Some questions I must chew on a little bit:
How many good trees bear good fruit? How many bad trees bear bad fruit? How many good trees bear bad fruit?
What is the difference from being temporarily being influenced by religion versus being born again and being someone who truly fight their sins?????
In Hebrews 6, how can a field that recieves rain and sunshine ONLY produce thorns and thistles????? What happened?
What does the regenerated soul look like??
What is an apostate??Can a believer lose their salvation??
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Day 15 and 16: The Quest
Day 15 quest challenge was to keep all your trash and take a picture of it. So I will post that tomorrow. I guess the point is that we waste a lot. Its kind of interesting because I have been thinking about trash a lot. We just moved into our home a few weeks ago and believe it or not we do not have a trash can. So we have been putting a trash bag on the door handle and then take it out once it is full or weve put something foul in it so the house doesnt stink.
Day 16 quest challenge was to research HUMAN TRAFFICKING.
http://www.dreamcenter.org/new/images/outreach/RescueProject/stats.pdf
http://www.worldvision.org/content.nsf/learn/globalissues-stp
http://www.worldvision.org/content.nsf/learn/globalissues-child-trafficking?Open&lpos=lft_txt_Child-Trafficking
Here is an amazing blog written by Jesse who works for WORLD VISION on a journey to learn more about and help prevent child trafficking.
http://www.worldvision.org/content.nsf/learn/globalissues-childprotection-jesse-blog
Day 16 quest challenge was to research HUMAN TRAFFICKING.
http://www.dreamcenter.org/new/images/outreach/RescueProject/stats.pdf
http://www.worldvision.org/content.nsf/learn/globalissues-stp
http://www.worldvision.org/content.nsf/learn/globalissues-child-trafficking?Open&lpos=lft_txt_Child-Trafficking
Here is an amazing blog written by Jesse who works for WORLD VISION on a journey to learn more about and help prevent child trafficking.
http://www.worldvision.org/content.nsf/learn/globalissues-childprotection-jesse-blog
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Quest Mission: Reaching out to Our Missionaries
Speak up for those who cannot speak up for themselves, do right to all those who are destitute. Proverbs 31:8
Yesterday I was challenged to look at poverty in the world. Zimbabwe was the country that continued to come to my attention. Today my quest mission was to seek out people who are serving in this country, lift them up in prayer, begin communication with them, and ask them how I might help.
The first website that I found was the DIVINE WORLD MISSIONARIES- I was encouraged and surprised to see the diversity of missionaries invovled in this mission. They are from India, Indonesia, Ghana, Poland, Slovakia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Lord God lead and guide these faithful men of God....to carry your heart and mission into Zimbabwe: Alex Thomas, Gabriel Sasu, Krystian Taczyk, Oscar Melendres, Tadeusz Grenda, Zbigniew Oldynski, Frantisek Kantar, Marek Glodek, Macek Malicki, Levi Nartoyo, Matheus Mitch Ruron, Leonard Baa, Fransiskus Bhoka, Albertus Suyanto, Edmund Tue Wea, Ajit Kujur, Vincent Victor Mwiya, Edson Miambo, and Joe Ncube.
http://www.operationworld.org/country/zimo/owtext.html Here is some more information about Zimbabwe.
Here is a ministry that is attacking the effect of AIDS. http://www.ywamafrica.org/South_Central/Zimbabwe/Bulawayo/foh.htm
http://www.ywamafrica.org/South_Central/Zimbabwe/Bulawayo/staff-n.htm
Here are some of the immediate needs that they are looking for.
Lord God I thank you for these moments that I can look away from myself and my needs and look towards the needs of others. Lord when I think about the devastation of this country and start to realize the plight of these people....I AM OVERWHELMED! Only with your awesome power and wisdom can these large human issues be solved. But also I see God you looking at me and asking me what I think that I can do. LORD what can I do?
Right now I feel that I have been consumed with my current circumstance. I think we are all settle so now it is time to put my eyes back onto the WORLD.
Lets see...whats my plan. Okay well financially I am going to elicit the help of my very passionate, compassionate, energetic son Christopher. He is a dreamer like his mom, but I also see he has a little more follow through.....so we are going to start KEEPING OUR CHANGE to BRING CHANGE.
My goal would be to find at least 1 dollar a week to give to Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe specifically.
Now that might not be that much but what about multiplication.........it is estimated that there are about 76.3 million households in America. So how much money could be infused into Zimbabwe in a years time. 52 time 76.3 millions households equals 3,967,600,000 Billion dollars. Can you imagine how that would be able to help ZIMBABWE. How it could change the AIDS epidemic and infuse jobs into the economy.......But more than money God needs soften hearts from his people to come alongside these children.....will you? With the help of my son I am going to make that step.....
Yesterday I was challenged to look at poverty in the world. Zimbabwe was the country that continued to come to my attention. Today my quest mission was to seek out people who are serving in this country, lift them up in prayer, begin communication with them, and ask them how I might help.
The first website that I found was the DIVINE WORLD MISSIONARIES- I was encouraged and surprised to see the diversity of missionaries invovled in this mission. They are from India, Indonesia, Ghana, Poland, Slovakia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Lord God lead and guide these faithful men of God....to carry your heart and mission into Zimbabwe: Alex Thomas, Gabriel Sasu, Krystian Taczyk, Oscar Melendres, Tadeusz Grenda, Zbigniew Oldynski, Frantisek Kantar, Marek Glodek, Macek Malicki, Levi Nartoyo, Matheus Mitch Ruron, Leonard Baa, Fransiskus Bhoka, Albertus Suyanto, Edmund Tue Wea, Ajit Kujur, Vincent Victor Mwiya, Edson Miambo, and Joe Ncube.
http://www.operationworld.org/country/zimo/owtext.html Here is some more information about Zimbabwe.
Here is a ministry that is attacking the effect of AIDS. http://www.ywamafrica.org/South_Central/Zimbabwe/Bulawayo/foh.htm
http://www.ywamafrica.org/South_Central/Zimbabwe/Bulawayo/staff-n.htm
Here are some of the immediate needs that they are looking for.
Lord God I thank you for these moments that I can look away from myself and my needs and look towards the needs of others. Lord when I think about the devastation of this country and start to realize the plight of these people....I AM OVERWHELMED! Only with your awesome power and wisdom can these large human issues be solved. But also I see God you looking at me and asking me what I think that I can do. LORD what can I do?
Right now I feel that I have been consumed with my current circumstance. I think we are all settle so now it is time to put my eyes back onto the WORLD.
Lets see...whats my plan. Okay well financially I am going to elicit the help of my very passionate, compassionate, energetic son Christopher. He is a dreamer like his mom, but I also see he has a little more follow through.....so we are going to start KEEPING OUR CHANGE to BRING CHANGE.
My goal would be to find at least 1 dollar a week to give to Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe specifically.
Now that might not be that much but what about multiplication.........it is estimated that there are about 76.3 million households in America. So how much money could be infused into Zimbabwe in a years time. 52 time 76.3 millions households equals 3,967,600,000 Billion dollars. Can you imagine how that would be able to help ZIMBABWE. How it could change the AIDS epidemic and infuse jobs into the economy.......But more than money God needs soften hearts from his people to come alongside these children.....will you? With the help of my son I am going to make that step.....
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Return to the Quest
Over the past month, I have been in the process of moving. I have been really sick the past week. I have acute tonsilitis and now some unexplainable chest pain/tightness. I am praying that I will be well soon. But I have felt extremely bad about not being able to continue on with the quest.
Day 11: Today was the challenge to research a country that is amongt the poorest in our our world. I found the top 10
1. Zimbabwe
2. Congo
3. Burundi
4. Liberia
5. Guinea- Bissau
6. Somalia
7. Central African Republic
8. Eritrea
9. Niger
10. Sierra Leon
These figures were based on GPA per capita
I am curious to find out how and why these 10 countries are the most vulnerable. I am intrigued to find out what missionaries and humanitarian aid workers are doing in these places to provide comfort, aid, and the GOOD NEWS.
Amongst the nations, that fall under the above mentioned prerequisite, the first criteria for judging is the standard of living, which includes life expectancy, calorie intake per capita, school enrollment rate and overall literacy rate. The next criteria is, how vulnerable is the nation's economy, which depends mainly on the agricultural production, export and import.So accordingly, the poorest country in the world is Zimbabwe. This southern African nation is the world's poorest country by a long way. Its GDP - per capita is less than $250. Political unrest and a totally collapsed economy are the main reasons for the failing of this one as a well to do nation. Zimbabwe, formerly Rhodesia, was a British colony until, as late as 1980, when it gained independence. Current President Robert Mugabe was the one who pioneered the freedom movement in the 1970s and has held the country's highest office, till date. At the time of independence, Zimbabwe had a substantial white population. Even though blacks made up more than 90% of the population, whites held more than 80% of the top authoritarian posts and 70% of the country's commercially viable and highly fertile land. Mugabe earned a lot of black support, post independence, when he promised to redistribute the land amongst the majority race. This plan failed to materialize for almost two decades, until in 1999 when a rising unrest against Mugabe's regime forced him to take up the issue of land redistribution seriously. This was the beginning of Zimbabwe's decline. In 2000, Mugabe began to redistribute land to the blacks, adopting a compulsory land acquisition policy. The legality and legitimacy of this policy has time and again been challenged in the High court and Supreme Court of Zimbabwe. And in spite of several court rulings, the law implementing agencies have seldom acted according to the rulings on these issues. This acquisition of the cultivable land, continuous droughts and void of inputs and financial aid. This led to diminishing agricultural exports, which was traditionally a leading sector of Zimbabwe's exports. This resulted in Zimbabwe experiencing a severe hard-currency shortage, which in turn led to a sharp rise in inflation and continuous shortages of imported oil, coal and consumer goods. In 2004-05, the Mugabe regime initiated "Operation Murambatsvina", a purposeful effort to bring down the illegal markets and slums that had sprung up, mostly in towns and cities. This action was widely criticized by the opposition and international human rights bodies, who alleged that, this drive left a significant section of urban poor, homeless. The Zimbabwe government countered this allegation by describing it as an attempt to provide decent housing to the poor, although they failed to deliver any new dwelling to those who were forcibly evicted. Allegations of rampant rigging during a general election and the above mentioned operation led to Zimbabwe being suspended from the Commonwealth of Nations on charges of human rights abuses during the land redistribution and creating a non-democratic environment.Zimbabwe is currently facing deep economic and food crisis, described by UN observers as one of the worst since its independence. It has been widely attributed to the government's price control policies and land confiscations, the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and a persistent drought engulfing the region have also made matters worse. Life expectancy has dramatically declined since the 1990s, for males, it has dropped from 60 to 37, and for females is even lower at 34 years which happens to be the lowest in the world. Consequently, the infant mortality rate has mounted from 53 to 81 deaths per 1,000 live births. According to an estimate, currently there about 1.8 million HIV +ve Zimbabweans.
http://www.financialjesus.com/interesting-economics/top-10-poorest-countries-in-the-world-2010/
Here is a link about some of these countries. Wow. In our little worlds we are so off base with what is reality..Lord God help me to be more sensitive to the plights of these your children.
Day 11: Today was the challenge to research a country that is amongt the poorest in our our world. I found the top 10
1. Zimbabwe
2. Congo
3. Burundi
4. Liberia
5. Guinea- Bissau
6. Somalia
7. Central African Republic
8. Eritrea
9. Niger
10. Sierra Leon
These figures were based on GPA per capita
I am curious to find out how and why these 10 countries are the most vulnerable. I am intrigued to find out what missionaries and humanitarian aid workers are doing in these places to provide comfort, aid, and the GOOD NEWS.
Amongst the nations, that fall under the above mentioned prerequisite, the first criteria for judging is the standard of living, which includes life expectancy, calorie intake per capita, school enrollment rate and overall literacy rate. The next criteria is, how vulnerable is the nation's economy, which depends mainly on the agricultural production, export and import.So accordingly, the poorest country in the world is Zimbabwe. This southern African nation is the world's poorest country by a long way. Its GDP - per capita is less than $250. Political unrest and a totally collapsed economy are the main reasons for the failing of this one as a well to do nation. Zimbabwe, formerly Rhodesia, was a British colony until, as late as 1980, when it gained independence. Current President Robert Mugabe was the one who pioneered the freedom movement in the 1970s and has held the country's highest office, till date. At the time of independence, Zimbabwe had a substantial white population. Even though blacks made up more than 90% of the population, whites held more than 80% of the top authoritarian posts and 70% of the country's commercially viable and highly fertile land. Mugabe earned a lot of black support, post independence, when he promised to redistribute the land amongst the majority race. This plan failed to materialize for almost two decades, until in 1999 when a rising unrest against Mugabe's regime forced him to take up the issue of land redistribution seriously. This was the beginning of Zimbabwe's decline. In 2000, Mugabe began to redistribute land to the blacks, adopting a compulsory land acquisition policy. The legality and legitimacy of this policy has time and again been challenged in the High court and Supreme Court of Zimbabwe. And in spite of several court rulings, the law implementing agencies have seldom acted according to the rulings on these issues. This acquisition of the cultivable land, continuous droughts and void of inputs and financial aid. This led to diminishing agricultural exports, which was traditionally a leading sector of Zimbabwe's exports. This resulted in Zimbabwe experiencing a severe hard-currency shortage, which in turn led to a sharp rise in inflation and continuous shortages of imported oil, coal and consumer goods. In 2004-05, the Mugabe regime initiated "Operation Murambatsvina", a purposeful effort to bring down the illegal markets and slums that had sprung up, mostly in towns and cities. This action was widely criticized by the opposition and international human rights bodies, who alleged that, this drive left a significant section of urban poor, homeless. The Zimbabwe government countered this allegation by describing it as an attempt to provide decent housing to the poor, although they failed to deliver any new dwelling to those who were forcibly evicted. Allegations of rampant rigging during a general election and the above mentioned operation led to Zimbabwe being suspended from the Commonwealth of Nations on charges of human rights abuses during the land redistribution and creating a non-democratic environment.Zimbabwe is currently facing deep economic and food crisis, described by UN observers as one of the worst since its independence. It has been widely attributed to the government's price control policies and land confiscations, the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and a persistent drought engulfing the region have also made matters worse. Life expectancy has dramatically declined since the 1990s, for males, it has dropped from 60 to 37, and for females is even lower at 34 years which happens to be the lowest in the world. Consequently, the infant mortality rate has mounted from 53 to 81 deaths per 1,000 live births. According to an estimate, currently there about 1.8 million HIV +ve Zimbabweans.
http://www.financialjesus.com/interesting-economics/top-10-poorest-countries-in-the-world-2010/
Here is a link about some of these countries. Wow. In our little worlds we are so off base with what is reality..Lord God help me to be more sensitive to the plights of these your children.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Tucson Arizona and new beginnings.....
I needed some change. I needed a new perspective.
Have you ever found yourself in a situation that you know is not normal for your own character. I am going to be completely frank since this is my journal of my journey.....But in the last few months I have been disappointed, surprised and a little offended by my own actions and attitudes.
I am so glad to be in a new place to make new choices that will greatly impact my life.
I think that I went through some of these recent circumstances so that I could better relate to others and their struggles....
I will be even more honest.....The other night I was talking with one of my girls and she really poured her heart out and shared some things in her life that were really hard.....but God gave me the unique opportunity of telling her about experiences in my past. Just by letting her know that I had experienced certain things like she had...it helped to break down those walls.
Although those experiences that happen to me as a young girl were very hard..I was grateful in that moment that my sharing was actually bringing her closer to God. I pray that God will take these circumstances that I recently went through...that he would use these....to help others...and help me be more FOCUSED on the right things and ON GOD!
Lord forgive me of my sins. Forgive me of my foolishness. Forgive me for not always fixing my eyes on you.
My heart has a way to go.....but I think I am in a better place now......
I am so excited for this new job and experience. Be with Christopher. Be with Jason.
Prayer. Help us to find a home. Help us to find the right school for Christopher. Help us to find a vibrant church.
Until later.............................
Have you ever found yourself in a situation that you know is not normal for your own character. I am going to be completely frank since this is my journal of my journey.....But in the last few months I have been disappointed, surprised and a little offended by my own actions and attitudes.
I am so glad to be in a new place to make new choices that will greatly impact my life.
I think that I went through some of these recent circumstances so that I could better relate to others and their struggles....
I will be even more honest.....The other night I was talking with one of my girls and she really poured her heart out and shared some things in her life that were really hard.....but God gave me the unique opportunity of telling her about experiences in my past. Just by letting her know that I had experienced certain things like she had...it helped to break down those walls.
Although those experiences that happen to me as a young girl were very hard..I was grateful in that moment that my sharing was actually bringing her closer to God. I pray that God will take these circumstances that I recently went through...that he would use these....to help others...and help me be more FOCUSED on the right things and ON GOD!
Lord forgive me of my sins. Forgive me of my foolishness. Forgive me for not always fixing my eyes on you.
My heart has a way to go.....but I think I am in a better place now......
I am so excited for this new job and experience. Be with Christopher. Be with Jason.
Prayer. Help us to find a home. Help us to find the right school for Christopher. Help us to find a vibrant church.
Until later.............................
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