precious presents

We are fast approaching the holiday season and with that, for some reason, the Christmas shopping season. This Friday is the dreaded Black Friday, named so because this is the day that retailers go from being in the red to being in the black.

Once again I want to challenge you not to fall into the commercialism of the season. One rebellious group, The Adbusters, are campaigning for us to join Buy Nothing Day where you can pledge to not shop from sunrise to sunset on November 26th. I think this is an interesting proposition, since we Americans have more waste that any other country. So, in addition to not shopping on Black Friday I want you to consider some other ways you can make changes this holiday season.

Did you know that 1.8 million people in under resourced countries die every year from dirty drinking water. The Advent Conspiracy who tells us to worship fully, spend less, give more and love all, is asking for support for Living Water International . There is a wonderful video where Chris Seay explains, from the streets of Haiti, how you can spend your Christmas money to save lives.

Samaritan's Purse offers aid to the worlds poor and sick. They have emergency relief programs that provide assistance to victims of war, famine, disease, and natural disaster. At Christmas time you can pack a shoe box and have it sent to a needy child through their Operation Christmas Child program. Their vision is through the story of the good Samaritan.

Fred Curry, of Rice and Beans Ministry, in Costa Rica is asking for support in reaching out to the poor people in the coastal, central and south pacific. Just ten dollars will feed a family for 4 days.

Of course there are children right here in the US that go to bed hungry every day. Many of these kids rely on the school lunch program to receive nutritious meals. On weekends and holidays there the program, Feeding America, that offers additional food through their Backpack Program. They fill children's backpacks with nonperishable and easily consumed food the day before the weekend or holiday. Our church is partnered with a local school and we provide these backpacks,. We are always in need of more backpacks and money to purchase food due to the increasing numbers of qualified applicants.

So, instead of giving into the commercialism of the season, I am begging you, please consider participating in one of these programs or look into another programs in you region where you can give the most precious gift.

Rice & Beans Ministry

Rice and Beans Ministry helps feed hungry families year around in Costa Rica through the United Methodist Church. Over the past several months I have had the pleasure of getting to know the director, Fred Curry. He began working in missions in 1990 and in Costa Rica in 1996. He established Rice and Beans Ministry in June of 2007. Along with the goal of providing families with enough food for a week, Rice and Beans is trying to build churches, provide medical care and assist in providing uniforms for children so that they can attend school.

It is currently the rainy season in Costa Rica and recently a tropical storm dumped even more rain on the already saturated land. We received reports of flooding, land and rock slides that trapped many people cutting them off from any assistance. Simple homes of plastic sheeting and dirt floors were washed into the rivers along with many families. Local stores are out of food and there is no way to get help. Rice and Beans has been working to house, feed, and clothe the survivors, but they need your help.

If you would like to support these efforts or participate in a mission trip please visit the Rice and Beans Ministry website here.

Serving Others

What does it mean to serve others? My DH works in the hospitality industry. He is there to serve five days a week for twelve or more hours a day. He's out there serving others on Mother's Day and Valentine's Day when I’d like to have him all to myself. Of course he’s great at what he does, no matter how tired or frustrated he’s feeling, he make the customer feel special by serving them.

Our pastor, Eddie, recently preached on what Jesus said about service to others. He said that there will be no glory, no power, no honor or privilege. He uses words like deny yourself and lose your life. I think that’s why so many of us are resistant to going out there and serving. In John Ed Mathison’s book, Treasures of the Transformed Life he says that 20% of the people in the church do 80% of the work. How can we say we’re willing to launch into the life God has for us when we don’t do what He has told us needs to be done?

We make following Jesus about all sorts of things. We hear people say that we have to have certain political views if we are Christians, but Jesus is not about political power. Some people think they’re morally superior or they try and participate in the right activities, but they are completely missing the point.

Eddie told a story about his father repairing a boat motor that had been given to him because he thought of himself as a handyman. He told us how his dad had to lower the motor into an oil drum filled with water to watch it churn the water because they didn’t own a boat. Those people that are telling us how to vote, or where to spend our time, money and energy all in the name of God are doing just what that boat motor did in that oil drum, they are churning the water.

Jesus is not talking about some church sanctioned project either. Not that there’s anything wrong with serving through the Rice and Beans Ministry, or leading Vacation Bible School with the Navajo Nation Ministry Mission, but servant-hood is not a project, it’s a lifestyle. Servant-hood is not about where you think you should be tomorrow, it starts right where you are today, and it’s defiantly not about you. Ask yourself, what can I do today to be of service to those I love and to those I don’t love and stop churning the water.