Archive - January, 2010

Amos Story Music Video by Aaron Ivey

January 18, 2010 in Friends, Videos 0

I’ve written about Aaron Ivey before and how I not only greatly love and respect him as a person but also as an artist and activist.  I think his latest album is fantastic, and one of my favorite cuts is “Amos Story.”

Perhaps it’s that while Liza and I haven’t adopted yet, we share Aaron and Jamie‘s passion for adoption.  Maybe it’s because I’ve been able to watch their journey with Amos and Story from afar and have been continuously blessed to be reminded of the faithfulness of God they’ve experienced along the way.  It could be that our daughters share the same name (which I might have subconsciously stolen from him, though I really don’t think that’s what happened).  Whatever the reason, this song has touched me as one who’s an adopted heir of our Abba Father, as a parent, as a (hopefully and prayerfully) future adoptive parent, and as just a human being.

Today Amos is still in Haiti.  He’s relatively okay following all of the destruction his native country has experienced from the earthquake last week.  However, I can’t imagine how much more he wants now to be home with his Papa and Mama and brothers and sister.  I also can’t imagine how much Aaron and Jamie want him home.  You can find out more about Amos and Story as well as the rest of the Ivey’s over at Aaron’s site.  But at the very least, please pray for them and for Amos and that their family might finally be united together soon.

Today Aaron posted the music video for “Amos Story,” and I wanted to make sure I shared it with all of you.  Be sure to click over to his site and let him know how much you like it.

Help Compassion International Help Haiti

January 14, 2010 in Compassion 2

I’m a little late to the ball game here but this is too important to let pass by.

Unless you’ve been completely out of touch you know that Haiti was hit by a 7.0 earthquake Tuesday, a catastrophe whose epicenter was right around the capital, Port Au Prince.

Government buildings have collapsed.  Hospitals have collapsed.  Hotels have collapsed.  Grocery stores have collapsed.  The U.N. headquarters has collapsed.  Thousand of homes have been destroyed.  The airport is in disarray.  Hundreds of thousands are dead and more are homeless.

All of this in a nation that is the poorest in the western hemisphere where two-thirds already live in abject poverty many on less than $2-a-day.

I have friends who have and are adopting from Haiti.  They’ve both been able to hear that their children are okay.  However, thousands of children are not.

I have friends who have had the privilege to visit Haiti.  They’ve walked the streets, slept in the hotels, ate the food and been blessed by the people.  They can’t get them out of their minds.

There are people I respect immediately there who are literally serving as first responders in a country that basically has none.

James 1:27 reads “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”

The world is full of orphans and widows in distress.  Right now Haiti is full of them.  You are called by almighty God to look after them.

You’re called to do something.

You can do something.

You have to do something.

For those of you who know me or have been readers of this blog for any amount of time you know that I love Compassion International and the work they’re doing around the world to release children from poverty in Jesus’ name.

I’d like to ask you to consider helping those affected by the Haiti earthquake by giving financially to their disaster relief fund.  Literally any amount you give will make a difference, but here’s a breakdown of just how your money will be transformed into aid that is desperately needed.

• $35 helps provide a relief pack filled with enough food and water to sustain a family for one week.
• $70 gift helps care for their needs for two weeks.
• $105 helps provide relief packs filled with enough food and water to sustain two families for two weeks.
• $210 gift helps care for two families’ needs.
• $525 helps provide relief packs filled with enough food and water to sustain 10 families for two weeks.
• $1,050 gift helps care for 10 families’ needs.
• $1,500 helps rebuild a home.
• $2,100 helps supply 20 families with the basics for three weeks.

Actually, scratch that.  I don’t want you to consider giving.  I want you to give.

Compassion’s work in Haiti is run by Haitians.  The cream of the crop in Haiti.  They don’t have to send people in.  They have people there.  They are in the right position to make a difference there right now.

There are a lot of people out there warning you to be weary of who you give money to, to make sure that it is actually going to help those in Haiti.  Maybe it’s good enough for you that you’ll just take my word for it that Compassion is the real deal and that you can trust him.  But if that’s not enough (I don’t take it personally) then check them out over at Charity Navigator.

Please.

Give.

Perhaps, go one further and sponsor a child in Haiti or one of Compassion’s twenty-five other countries.

Do.

Something.

Now.

Repent Spoken Word

January 11, 2010 in Videos 1

I’m out of town all this week.  I’m speaking for the spiritual emphasis week at Calvary Day School in Savannah, GA.  Any and all prayers are much needed and appreciated.  I’ll let you know how it goes.

In the meantime, here’s a video we produced back before the holidays that just released recently.  It’s a spoken word on the concept of repentance.  It’s part of our effort to introduce some of the words associated with “Re,” this summer’s camp theme.

Actually, this is just a short edit of the piece.  The full cut will be released in association with studentlifeBIBLEstudy.

Enjoy!

How To Live In 2010: 35 Essential Qualities

January 6, 2010 in Life 0

There are any number of strategies that are recommended when trying to produce a good blog.  One, of course, is to offer valuable content.  Amongst content that will be considered valuable is the ever-popular “how to” post.  I’ve decided to tackle a big one.  How to live in 2010.  The following are not steps to be taken in a given order, but are, instead, what I consider to be essential qualities to life.  I hope you find them helpful.

1.  Breathe

2.  Eat

3.  Drink

4.  Rest

5.  Play

6.  Love

7.  Hope

8.  Believe

9.  Laugh

10.  Run

11.  Jump

12.  Watch

13.  Listen

14.  Think

15.  Speak

16.  Taste

17.  Feel

18.  Forgive

19.  Dream

20.  Care

21.  Sit

22.  Go

23.  Ponder

24.  Retreat

25.  Renew

26.  Pray

27.  Quit

28.  Smell

29.  Begin

30.  Read

31.  Share

32.  Converse

33.  Smile

34.  Confess

35.  Cry

There you go.  What did I miss?

Failure Is Not An Option

January 4, 2010 in Life 3

As everyone’s aware (hopefully) we have entered a new year.

Amongst other happenings, this is significant because it becomes a time for many people to set out on the road to the rest of their life with a fresh start.  Many people mark this renewal by making resolutions, a list of hopes/dreams/aspirations/goals that they plan to accomplish in the next year.

I have often been counted among these people.  While I’ve never really taken it too seriously and often can’t recall on December 31 what I had resolved to by then on January 1, I’ve still fulfilled my duty as a festive new year celebrator by making the list anyway.

But not anymore.

I will not be making any resolutions this year whatsoever.

Though I can’t remember what they all were, I am confident in saying that for at least the past three years I have completely failed at every single of my new year resolutions. That’s right.  Every.  Single.  One.  No one’s going to be drafting me for their fantasy new year resolution league.  I suck at it.

I was coming to this realization recently as I was considering what resolutions I might make for this next year.  I didn’t really get down on myself about it (after all, what good does that do), but I did find myself wishing that more people talked about their own failures.

You see, just in case you didn’t know it, I fail.  A lot.  Way more often than I care to admit or am comfortable talking about.  I blow it.  I mess up.  I fall short.  I make mistakes.  I’m wrong.  I misunderstand.  I even… sin.

And the thing is.  So do you.

But that’s no big news flash.  We all do, of course.

However, there are people out there, experts, who seem to have it all together and even tell people how to be as awesome as they are.  Yet, they never want to talk about their failures.  And when those failures do happen to become unearthed by some inconvenient news source, these people all of a sudden want to decry the invasion of their privacy and seek to have the whole thing expunged from their public record.

We love to have our accomplishments lauded publicly, but we all want to pretend we have the illusion of being perfect and never failing even though we know that’s not true.

Failure is not an option.

Failure is fact.

Failure is the norm.

This past year was a big time of change for me.  Personally.  Professionally.  Spiritually.  If there’s anything that I want to see happen this next year, it’s just this: I want to be different on December 31 than I am on January 1.  Different for the better, of course.

There’s some things that I can name specifically that I’d like to be different.  So, why not make them a resolution, then?  After all, what’s the harm?

There’s not any.  But the reason I want resolve to change these things or let you guys know about them is simply because of failure.  More specifically, fear of failure.

If I’m honest, I’m often paralyzed by it.

And I have a feeling you are too.

So, why don’t try to give ourselves and each other a little room to fail? Why don’t we offer ourselves and each other a little more grace than usual, some encouragement even, to go for it, regardless of risk?  Why don’t we commit to be there and celebrate all the accomplishments with the full extent of all of our party-throwing prowess but also to Pick each other up and let ourselves be supported after the failures?

Won’t you join me?