Poverty? Is it about $

What is poverty?  Our church showed this video this morning.  I thought it was worth sharing.  Extremely thought provoking.  This is why I go out to the streets and try and befriend people.  This is why I bring them back to my home when appropriate.  If one of your friends were on the streets, you would help them out.  What is the difference with someone you don't know.  The mere fact that they are a stranger.  Your best friend was a stranger to you once.  You spoke with them.  You invited them over.  You paid for their meal more times than they have paid for yours.  But then again they paid for the movies more times than you.  It all equals out, right?  Tell that to the friend curling up in the alleyway tonight.  This is worth thinking about as we go to bed in our nice warm homes.  Most of us have an empty couch that we would be more than willing to have our best friend crash on.  But the weird smelly guy hanging out at the gas station we never go to cause it's on that street.  You know the guy: sweatshirt, baggy jeans, smells, matted hair, smoking a cigarette, asking for change.  Having him on the couch would be uncomfortable.  But for who?  What if he is your new best friend?  What is poverty?

Words to ponder

Read this today and it reminded me that I need to read more Mother Theresa.  A woman of great wisdom.  We miss you.

http://theashram.blogspot.com/2009/10/exhortation-from-mother-theresa.html

Dude where's my car?

Walking out to the parking lot and noticing that yoru car is missing.  It would be scary for most anyone.  And it was for me today.  Until I remembered that it isn't just my car.  I just stepped out into my first communal experience with co-owning a car.  My firiend and I are enjoying the fruits that come with equal ownership of our new car.  This experience has thus far has tested my trust, selfishness, pride, fear.  And the weekend hasn't even arrived, when he is taking it home to be with his sister.  I have a lot to learn about communal life if I am wanting to move into an intentioanal community. 

New Life

It was a cool October night.  My first pumpkin pie of the season and I destroyed it.  Me, along with Tyler.  We were in a pie eating contest, the first to finish won a free pizza.  We won.  A few weeks later, a went out and had a great time watching a movie and eating pizza.  As excited we were to win the pie eating contest, we were celebrating something far more spectacular with that pizza.  We were celebrating my birth.  My birth into the Kingdom of God. 

It's been twelve years since the night I first met Jesus.  I wish I could say that these twelve years were one's of passionate love of a man toward his God, but they weren't.  I wish I could say that these twelve years were full of ridding myself of all the unrighteousness that God hates, but they haven't been.  It's been a long, trying journey.  A journey of one man trying to fight, push, climb, crawl toward a single goal.  A journey of that same man, giving up time and time again, not understanding the usefulness, or advantage of pressing forward.  A journey of a man that cowardly has given up time and time again. 

I wasn't the only one to have a birthday on October 4th.  A new generation has come into the world.  The first generation below me in my family.  My cousin had a little girl, Taylor.  I pray that her journey will be better than mine.  I pray that she will be stronger and wiser. With this birth I reminded of my own.  She is innocent, and full of life.  With Christ, I too can become innocent and full of life.  The innocence that comes with new life is offered every day through Christ.  May I too become like a little child and rest in the arms of my Father.