...eh...

i haven't titled this entry. i think it's because i have so much on my mind that i can't come up with a proper one; or because there are so many things it could be. but i haven't blogged in so long that i'm entitled to a post that i  can't title or give any inclination of length. a lot is going on. here's the deal though. it aint about me. and thats the best part about it. i'm not even sure how to organize all of this so i'm just gonna go for it and tell you a little about my week and see where it goes. my intention is awareness. awareness of some issues that need to be talked about whether we want the gory details or not. and, because i am the type of reader that can't stand to sift through a bunch of words that don't really mean anything to me, i will propose to write that way. PEOPLE ARE STARVING. EVERYWHERE. they aren't just the typical ones we see (although they will get mention later) around town who maybe have skipped a meal or two. I'm talking about children around the world who are STARVING TO DEATH BEFORE THEY REACH 5 YEARS OLD. their parents are WATCHING THEM DIE. and there's nothing they can do to stop it. now, before you get all political on me hear me out a minute. does it really matter HOW THINGS GOT THIS WAY? WHAT THEIR PARENTS AND ANCESTORS DID OR DIDN'T DO? these children didn't asked to be brought into this life, or lack thereof. so there. shut your mouth and quit thinking about all the JUNK that has been put in your head regarding the issue. Here's a thought, out of all of Jesus' stories we hear a/b in the Bible (and for the religious in sunday school) which one of those went a little like this: "hello, I'm Jesus. I'm here to help you with whatever you may need. Are you hungry? Thristy? Naked? Hurting?" "well, yes, i am a little hungry for whatever you may have to spare and my kids could use some sandles." Jesus: "well.......let me think........hmmm.....let me just ask you a few questions a/b maybe why and how you got here, your history, your parents and grandparents or for heaven's sake why aren't you out working the fields instead of begging for food?" "and these kids you got here, well, i don't know if i have enough to feed you AND the kids....geeez man!" ......... okay, for those of you who know ANYTHING a/b our Saviour - come on! you know thats just crazy, right? last i checked, he made it a point to go out and about and seek and help and save and feed! and thats the only example i wanna follow. he didn't ask them to fill out a form or to have to prove who they are and why they are where they are, 10 forms of i.d and by the way if you want any assistance you will have to go through a 3 week program first.  see, we are ridiculously SCARED. we are just SO SCARED. we freeze in fear. fear of downtown, fear of parks, parking lots, alley ways, the hood, the projects, broken down apartment bldgs. you name it WE ARE AFRAID OF IT. so, what happens then? no one gets helped. no one is seen because we are simply just too uncomfortable to go there. so nothing. nothing is what happens. nothing is what gets done. and let me just say for a minute its a lot easier that way. easier to "bury your head" as i like to say and pretend it doesn't exist, or that someone else will pick up our slack.( I know...I did this). someone's hungry, naked, homeless, jobless but we'll just stay in our own little world and worry about the new car we don't have, the bigger house we can't buy and the clothes line we can't afford and even the newest greatest electronic device that our kids won't be getting this year. ( i could go on but i won't). because anyone with 1/2 a brain can see where i'm going. so we've established this much: 1. we are all scared to death 2. we are all so stinking selfish we can't see past ourselves. no i do not have every answer. no i am not at the point where i get up daily and rush to meet someone else's needs, but i can say i'm on my way. on my way to making SOME kind of difference in this world. after all, isn't that why we are here? and here's something else - are you ever offended by a beggar? turned off? annoyed? something to consider. if we all SHARED just a LITTLE of what we HAD, we probably wouldn't have beggars. did you know that the 7 WEALTHIEST people in the world have enough money to END world hunger? completely END it. 7 PEOPLE????!!!! there are  BILLIONS of us!!! i think where we went wrong is this: at what point did we decide everything we have is ours? that "we work hard so we deserve whatever we want" mentality? something occured to me  and i've tried so hard to live it out. I OWN NOTHING. MY NAME IS WORTH NOTHING IN THIS WORLD. I DON'T OWN MY KIDS, HUSBAND, THE CAR I DRIVE, THE HOME I LIVE IN. NOTHING. I DON'T EVEN OWN MY UNDERWEAR OR SOCKS. But my father does. I have a RICH DADDY in heaven who OWNS IT ALL AND SEES AND KNOWS IT ALL AND HAS MY BEST INTEREST AT HEART!! thats enough to shout. really. but back to my point - it's not ours. we are BLESSED BEYOND MEASURE WITH WHAT WE HAVE. but we have NOTHING if we can't admit that HE owns it all and we are lucky enough God sees fit for us to borrow it a little while! so here's an idea: it aint mine anyway,and i won't miss it and God calls me to be responsible and He's got another blessing in hand for me, so why not go on and give it away? and whatever level you can give or do is fine. God doesn't judge us based on amounts or some being able to give more or any of that stuff. He just asks that we take care of one another. thats it. however and how much ever you can. uncomfortable? yes. at times. unfamiliar? always. different? definately. worth it? you bet. so here's my challenge: how will you help? be creative. i started with bottled water this summer and let me tell you its a blast. this week, i went and dropped off a case at Miller Park and a case outside Patton Towers. i don't tell you this so that i can brag about what Amy's doing but just to help put it in prospective. its NOT HARD. (and all you really have to do is take a drive and you will see) those people love it.its just water. i mean, 3-4-5.00 water!! and you know what else? i tell them they have to pass it out, they have to share it. it's not just for one or two of them. there's power in that. in having THEM be the ones to SHARE. it does something, i know it does. so real quick, let me tell you what happened Tuesday. the girls were outta school and i had an errand downtown, so i figured i'd do the drive around the park and see what happened. there were people everywhere. i stopped and took the case of water to a few fellows, explained to them what to do and a sweet lady in a wheelchair stopped and asked for a hot sandwhich. i had NO food in the car whatsoever and appologized. next, i drove around to Patton Towers, explained what i  had and remembered i also had 2 bags of clothes in the trunk. i didn't think too much of the clothes b/c of the fact that i had left them, and the waters with a gentleman. (the clothes were mine so they weren't his size  and there were a few childrens items) but let me get to the good part: we drove around to get the way we needed to in order to head back to the interstate and i looked over and said "Girls, look at that little girl!" there was a precious little one about 2, sitting on a park bench there with her mom i suppose and the gentleman whom i'd left the bags of clothes with! they were looking through them! i was delighted! i said a prayer and said, oh God, let it be something they can use. see, it's that simple. and by the way, i haven't forgotten about the sandwich lady....i suppose next time i'm out, i'm going to have to plan for some food. wanna join me?