love laid bare

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2009-10-29T00:00:00-07:00

Your Company May Own Your Tweets, Pokes, and YouTube Videos « Web Strategy by Jeremiah Owyang | Social Media, Web Marketing

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The SOURCE: Compassion International
Welcome to The Source, Compassion International's intranet homepage.
Christian Blog on Child Poverty
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2009-07-04T00:00:00-07:00

Henry Watsons Potteries - Well-crafted, traditional and contemporary collectable jars, crocks and kitchenware

I Quit

2008-02-17T21:59:00.003-07:00

This is my final blog post. I am quitting the personal blog thing. There are several reasons, but the 99.99 percent reason is that this blog has become my idol.

Balloon Dresses

2008-02-17T15:17:00.000-07:00

I'm guessing they don't get to sit down.

The detail is exquisite.
Isn't that what you say about fancy dresses?

God's Word is a Jedi Light Saber

2008-02-16T11:00:00.000-07:00

This post is courtesy of my friend, Brent Vawter and his son Austin.

Like so many other boys, Austin is a huge Star Wars fan. Lego, action figures, posters, DVDs, books, he's got quite a collection.

And whats not to love? Its heart-pounding action: laser cannons, blaster rifles, light sabers, droids, space creatures, star ships, and of course the Jedi Knights.

If you're familiar with the stories then you know the symbolism and parallels between the Jedi way (the good guys) and the Christian life we're called to live. I've enjoyed watching the films and reading the books with Austin, often using the stories to illustrate some Biblical principle in our devotional time together. This morning was one such discussion.

So bud, I'm reading in Romans 12 and 13 this morning as Paul's giving some practical instruction on how we're supposed to act. Then in chapter 13 verse 12, something stood out to me that hasn't caught my eye before. Paul tells us to put on the armor of light.

I'm thinking, Armor of light? What, we're supposed to strap a bunch of flashlights to our body to protect ourselves? What does he mean? Light is a defensive weapon? It's armor?

Austin: Is that part of the armor of God, like the shield of faith?

Hey, thats good! You're in Ephesians 6. Put a bookmark there and well come back to that.

So about this light, what exactly is that to us? A bulb and electrical source? I don't think so.

One of my favorite songs comes from Psalm 119:105 - Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. So Thy Word is this light!

Austin: And Thy Word is the Bible.

Exactly! Lets write this as an equation on our napkin here.
LIGHT = WORD
(Bible)

NOW lets go back to your Ephesians 6. When Paul tells us to put on the armor of God, he doesn't mention armor of light, but he does mention something about the Word. Lets see what that is.

Yes, Ephesians 6:17 says, "Take the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God."

So Gods Word is a sword. Lets go back to our napkin.
LIGHT = WORD = SWORD
(Bible)

And we learned in math that if A equals B and B equals C, then A equals C, right? So LIGHT = SWORD.

Dude, are you seeing this?! This is a light saber! Gods Word is a Jedi light saber!
LIGHT = SWORD
LIGHT SABER

Think about it. The Jedi use their light sabers to deflect blaster fire when they're under attack, so its a defensive weapon like Paul talks about in Romans 13. But they also use their light sabers to attack and cut through obstacles that are in their way, so its an offensive weapon like we see in Ephesians 6.

Now you'll love this. Back up a chapter to Ephesians 5:8 and we read that were called to be children of the light. God is calling us to be Jedi Knights! He's given us a light saber to protect and arm us, and He wants us to be His Jedi apprentices and study the ways of the Force!

Have you ever seen a laser go through a light saber and injure a Jedi? No! Have you seen an object too strong for a light saber to cut through? Of course not! The light saber is the ultimate weapon, but it will only help you if you're a Jedi tapping into the Force.

You know how Yoda was so powerful in the Force that he could merely point at someone and throw them across the room? Well Jesus told his disciples in Matthew 17 that if we fully understood the power of the Force, we could do more than throw someone across a room. We could throw mountains into the ocean!

This is so much better than Star Wars because its the real deal! God supplies the special effects. God's Force really is something we can feel around us, draw on when we're under attack, and use to accomplish our missions here on earth. How cool is that?!

You can imagine that this spawned a fun conversation which almost made us late for school. Our closing prayer was that we'd maintain firm grips on our light sabers and stay strongly connected to the Force today.

May the Force also be with you!

Compassion Scripture and Quotes Widget

2008-02-14T14:11:00.003-07:00

You want?
Go ahead . . . take it.
It won't bite.

Get this widget!

Valentine's Day Challenge

2008-02-14T10:07:00.008-07:00

Valentine's Day is about love.
This blog is about love.
Sponsoring a child is an act of love.
David Kuo, author of J-Walking and one of the bloggers in Uganda, has "compassionately" challenged his readers to sponsor 50 children. Today!

Carlos Whittaker set a goal of 100 children sponsored through Compassion and Ragamuffin Soul.com. Thirty people have already replied that they have sponsored a child as a result of his trip.

I am blown away by the power of Christ and how he is using these bloggers.

Please sponsor a child and share the abundant love you have in your life.

Compassion Registers 1,000,000 Child

2008-02-14T08:15:00.003-07:00

Meet Jeffry. He lives in Nicaragua, and he is Compassion's 1,000,000 registered child.

The difference between a registered child and a sponsored child is that registered children are waiting to be sponsored.

The registered children are the ones whose pictures you see on the web and in the child packets at concerts and other events, such as Compassion Sunday.

The registered children are the children who may wait several months to be chosen by a sponsor and who the Unsponsored Children's Fund assists until that sponsor comes along. The Unsponsored Children's Fund bridges the gap between registration and sponsorship.

Please help Compassion reach 1,000,000 sponsored children. Sponsor a child today.

One Year Ago Today

2008-02-13T19:14:00.004-07:00

One year ago today, I met my sponsored child in Kenya.

One year ago today, life in Kenya was dramatically different.

How Many Toenails Are on a Dog's Paw?

2008-02-12T20:28:00.004-07:00

If you're Bella, the answer is three. She ripped one out of her right front paw tonight, and she acts like nothing happened. Didn't we just dodge one bullet?

Are they called toenails or claws? Are they called feet or paws?

JESUS > poverty

2008-02-12T17:19:00.000-07:00

Jesus is greater than poverty.

And greed
And hate
And war

Born Again Voters No Longer Favor Republican Candidates

2008-02-12T10:18:00.000-07:00

"If the election were held today, and all of the remaining candidates from both parties were on the ballot, the frontrunners among born again voters would be Hillary Clinton (favored by 20% of born again likely voters), Barack Obama (18%) and Mike Huckabee (12%). No other candidate reached double figures. Thirty percent of the born again likely voters said they were still undecided as to who they would choose."

Born again voters supporting Hillary? Wow! But not so Wow! when you understand the difference between born again voters and evangelical voters.

"A subset of the born again population - evangelicals - has remained firmly committed to conservative ideals and, to a lesser extent, to the MRepublican Party . . . If the election were held today, only 45% of evangelicals say they would support the Republican nominee for president, and 11% would support the Democratic representative. Most significant is that a whopping 40% of evangelicals are undecided. This is extraordinary, given that 62% of evangelicals voted for the Republican candidate in 1992, 67% did so in 1996, along with 67% in 2000 and 85% in 2004."

Read the entire Barna report, including the definitions of born again and evangelicals.

My post, Slap Your Label Here, led to this post about How Do Christians Voters Feel About Abortion?, which is a sister to this post - the one you just read.

Let Africa Sink

2008-02-11T18:48:00.000-07:00

In light of the the political violence in Kenya and Compassion's blog trip to Uganda, Liam Kinnon offers up some food for thought. It's about two weeks old, but it's not stale.

Should we let Africa sink? Is ignoring Africa the best thing the West can do?

I'm a Dim Star

2008-02-11T13:53:00.000-07:00

Baby, I'm a Star. That's what I proclaimed when Mission Network News asked to interview me about Compassion's MySpace Impact Award. Unfortunately, I'm a dim star. Dim as in I speak like a dimwit.

I haven't heard what I sound like on the radio, but this print piece doesn't make me want to find out.

I'm consoling myself with the thought that in context what I said matched what I intended to say. The context being that space between my head and my mouth.

No Surgery for Old Dogs

2008-02-11T08:36:00.000-07:00

She's not really old, but the title of the post wouldn't work unless I pretended she is.

I heard back from "the specialist." Bella's x-ray doesn't show any abnormality suggesting the need for surgery. However, the good news came with a caveat. "We can't be sure without a full consult."

Bella is doing fine. No limping. Lots of energy. A big happy face. She's still taking the anti-inflammatory though. Just for a few more days. I'll pursue the consult if any of the first three items change.

The Compassion Blog is Live

2008-02-08T08:19:00.000-07:00

It doesn't have a name yet. Wanna help name it? If you don't, it may just get called Baby Blog.

The address is http://blog.compassion.com. Go there. NOW!

Change is Afoot

2008-02-07T13:21:00.000-07:00

February 11 I start my new job. It's my old job, which is my current job, but within a new structure and for a new boss. We're going through a reorg here at Compassion to better serve the changing needs of our growing ministry. We're restructuring to become more agile.

As part of the restructure, I'm joining the group I most closely work with - Web/Interactive. My job title stays the same for now, Web Communications Specialist, but it could change as we define the team's responsibilities. Change is afoot . . . which isn't the same as saying change is a foot.

Compassion Kenya Country Director Discusses Violence in Kenya

2008-02-07T10:55:00.001-07:00

Sidney Muisyo, Compassion Kenya country director, says Compassion's work has definitely been affected by the crisis. ''In terms of the regular programming, it is on hold on a number of projects -- currently 24 projects that we haven't been able to resume with our normal operations. The rest of the projects in the country are operating well. We have 200 or so projects that have not been affected."

Read the rest of the story on Mission Network News.

Learn how the violence has affected Compassion-assisted children in Kenya.

digg story

Avoid Cloverfield!

2008-02-06T07:11:00.000-07:00

After I sent this tweet out on Saturday, "I wish financial ruin upon Paramount Pictures for making Cloverfield," a friend asked me to elaborate. This is what I told him.

It's AWFUL! It's filmed like the Blair Witch Project. The characters are shallow. There is NO story development. Not a single question you have about the characters or story are addressed. And there are lots of questions. It's impossible to suspend your disbelief.

There were nine people in the theater when I saw it on Saturday. At the end of the movie we all just sat in stunned silence. Then the grumbling began from all corners. "You've got to be kidding me." "That's it?" "I paid for that?"

Gabe, my 13-year old little brother, even thought it was stupid. There was no redeeming coolness to it.

It was all about sucking you in, taking your money and thumbing their nose at you. I am SERIOUSLY considering boycotting Paramount movies for a time. It was atrocious. You getting that?

And for you, a little extra.

I'm mad at myself because I knew to expect this. I sooo wanted the movie to be good. I ignored numerous things that suggested it would stink big. I have to stop seeing movies that I know nothing about.

Caucus Love

2008-02-06T05:30:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Super Fat Tuesday. Did you tilt toward the Super or the Fat? Politics, parties or both? I leaned left and showed Obama some caucus love.

This was my first experience in a caucus, in fact, until two weeks ago I didn't even know Colorado held a caucus. I've lived in the state for 10 years and never participated in the nomination process before.

Most of the people that caucused - I like that word. Caucus. It sounds important. - most of the people that caucused hadn't done so before either. A few people said, "The last time I caucused there were only three people there." I also heard one, six and 10. Tonight, there were 34 people present to represent the 3,400 registered voters in the precinct.

We started our caucus with the U.S. Senate race - Tweetin' Mark Udall versus Mark "Something With a B." Mr. Udall pulled down 5 delegates. Mr. Undecided pulled in two. Mr. "Something With a B" didn't get any.

Once the preliminary round was out of the way, a straw poll was conducted for the presidential candidates. Anyone who had ever been a Democratic candidate was on the list. One person polled for Governor Bill Richardson, but in the official vote she raised her hand for one of the two candidates still campaigning.

I assume the purpose of the straw poll is to feel out where the other voters stand, because immediately after the poll participants are allowed to speak up for the candidates. It seemed to me that people spoke because they felt they should, that it wasn't alright to just vote. Thus, I suffered through a great deal of spoken ignorance before the vote.

One woman said she didn't want a "black Jimmy Carter" in office. Inexperienced was what she meant but prejudice is what she spoke.

Another person said, "You don't want national health care. Believe me. I'm from Ireland, and I know." I'm sure the logic was clear in her mind.

An educator spoke up and said, "Look what trouble Clinton got into when he was President. Imagine the trouble he'll cause when he's in the White House with nothing to do." Yes. Imagination. That's what I want to base my vote on.

And finally, one gentleman didn't want Bush, Clinton, Clinton, Bush, Bush, Clinton, which sounds like a strong issue-based argument.

In the end, my fellow Democrats cast 23 votes for Obama and 11 for Clinton.

Eight delegates were on the table, and as Pastor Gavin shared about his Iowa caucus experience, rounding was a factor. After the high math was applied, Obama earned 5.46 delegates which became five and Hillary earned 2.62 delegates which became three.

When I got home, I found a mess on the floor.

Bella is tired of not chasing rabbits. It's been five days since she's been able to burn off some energy, and she let me know it.

She's not a mischevious girl, but tonight she went to my CD rack, selected the handmade Tanzania photo album off the shelf - the photo album that Pam purchased for me and which contained all my non-digital photos of her - and chewed it up. Then for good measure, Bella rifled through the used tissues in the bathroom trash can and selected the choicest and moistest ones to scatter across the floor. It could've been worse.

Today it's kennel time. I can't risk Bella's whimsy again, and I can't let her run yet. It's rest until the weekend, and then we'll see what happens.

Ragamuffin Bling

2008-02-05T15:46:00.000-07:00

Shop the Soul for Uganda blog bling.

Uganda Blog Bling

2008-02-05T08:16:00.000-07:00

More Uganda blog bling. This is courtesy of Anne Jackson.

Like what I got? Go shopping at flowerdust.net for some of your own.

Or grab the code below. It's all good.

Should've Seen That Coming

2008-02-05T06:35:00.000-07:00

I'm behind on my blog reading, but I just "discovered" this video on Ragamuffin Soul. It's FUN-nay!

And then you have to try this, another courtesy of the Ragamuffin.

Comment on Compassion for a Contribution

2008-02-05T05:24:00.000-07:00

My Friend Amy reminds us that February is blog month at Compassion. And even though, I, a Compassion employee involved with putting on blog month, am running a contest to drum up interest for Kiva, you should be aware of what she is doing.

"Each Friday I'll introduce you to one of the children I sponsor. Every time you leave a comment on a Compassion post, you'll be entered into a drawing. This time the drawing isn't something for you though.....
I'll be donating 25 dollars to Compassion International and you'll get to choose which area it should be designated for from this list. I know it's not a lot, but it is a way we can make a difference together!"

So go make a difference with her, and when you're done, come back and make a difference with me.

A Compassion Uganda Blog Trip Widget

2008-02-04T17:16:00.001-07:00

From me to you. I'm re-gifting what Shaun made. And if you horde what I'm re-gifting without re-gifting it yourself, you'll have some 'splaining to do Lucy.

Countries With the Most U.S. Sponsored Children

2008-02-04T12:56:00.000-07:00

Compassion International has 10 partner countries, all of which sponsor children in the developing world. Compassion Deutschland joined the fold in December.

As far as sponsorship goes, these countries have the greatest number of children sponsored by people in the United States.

10. Ecuador

9. Colombia

8. Bolivia

7. Tanzania

6. Peru

5. Kenya

4. Indonesia

3. Haiti

2. Ethiopia

1. India

Compassion works in 24 countries around the world; 25 beginning this summer when Togo enrolls its first child.

e5

2008-02-04T05:45:00.000-07:00

Jesus sacrificed himself on the cross for His Bride,

"to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish."

e5 Men imitate Jesus by fasting for their brides, future brides, daughters, sisters, granddaughters, or any woman in need.

"Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy."

By fasting for the women in our lives we join our suffering to Christ's through a sacrificial act of self denial. It's a love laid bare.

To be an e5 Man:

you must be a baptized Christian
register with e5
fast on bread and water at least one day a month for your "bride's" spiritual growth and healing - preferably the first Wednesday of each month

The first Wednesday of this month is February 6, Ash Wednesday.

Who do you love?

Read Ephesians 5