Hammer on Anvil '

My four year old son, Indie, loves to ask questions. Not just the typical, inquisitive kid stuff like "why," but he really enjoys getting to know others. He will ask you what your favorite toy was when you were a child, or how you slept, how much you love the coffee you're drinking, or what Jesus has been telling you.


No, really. He asks this all the time. And then he loves to share what he is learning from the Lord. It's incredible to see this little guy develop his own relationship with the Lord.

Last Sunday I was making dinner when Indie cheerfully came into the kitchen. He stood beside me, looked up, smiled and said, "Jesus loves us just the way we are."

Delighted and somewhat puzzled, I said, "Well, yes He does, buddy. Did you hear that in kids' church this morning?"

"Oh, no, it's just something Jesus told me," he nonchalantly replied.

"Really? Well, what else has Jesus told you?" I inquired.

"We should be thankful for what we already have and keep our hands to ourselves." He stood there sweetly, happy to share what the Lord has been speaking to him.

I didn't even know what to say. I am blown away by his faith, his kindness, his genuine interest in sharing the Lord. I hugged my little guy, and then he brightly asked, "Mom, what has Jesus told you?"

We've made evangelism, discipleship and our faith look and feel way harder than it is. We've put rules and unnecessary limits on what God can or should look like when manifested in our own daily lives. We don't want to get to know God, ask Him the big or little questions, because we keep trying to fit God into our little boxes.

Believers, you can have the bumper sticker, wear the shirt, go to every service that is held, and listen to the clean radio all you want to, but if you don't take the time to get to know the Lord, what you share won't matter. When you do know the Lord, you  cheerfully share Him because He matters to you.

Friends, sharing your faith has very little to do with you "saving" anybody. You can't. Your job is not to save, but to share. Jesus saves. You share what He is doing in your life. That's all.

I pray you take this reminder and go forth to share what light the Lord has shown you.

What has the Lord told you today?

This will probably be the last entry about my trip to South Africa. Though I learned more than I could possibly put into these blogs, I think I have hit on the highlights.

The picture at the right depicts an after-school feeding program that takes place at Lighthouse Christian Church in Mokopane, Limpopo, South Africa. Blessman Ministries feeds 7,000 orphans a day in various venues, and this is one of them.

Nearly 1,000 children are orphaned due to AIDS in South Africa every day. Our team got to spend a couple hours visiting an orphanage one day, and I didn't want to leave. One little girl was noticeably lethargic, and wasn't interested in playing like the other children.  Later I saw her holding her head and crying. Turns out she had a splitting headache. She has advanced HIV and her prognosis is grim.

Then there was Julia, whom I mentioned in my first South Africa blog. She is a 6-year-old bundle of energy. She and I played on the swings and the slides. When we approached the merry-go-round, a bunch of boys were already on it, going at breakneck speed. I told Julia to let me slow it down first so she could get on. But she simply jumped on, seemingly unaware of the possible danger. When I mentioned this to my husband, he said, "Well after what she's been through, what is there to be afraid of?" Sadly, he is right. When you are raped at 18 months of age and placed in an orphanage, what is a recklessly fast merry-go-round in comparison?

James 1:27 tells us, "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress." It is an admonition that I have chosen to ignore for much of my life. I have helped widows on occasion, but closed my eyes to the problem of unwanted children.

Before my husband and I went to South Africa, God had been moving on our hearts to do foster care. Our trip sealed the deal for us and confirmed what we believed God was telling us to do. One night shortly after we returned from our trip, I was crying out to God on behalf of the children I had seen at the orphanage. In the midst of my prayers God spoke to me, "There are children like that in your own back yard." Yes, indeed there are. We plan to begin foster care training as soon as a class is scheduled.

The best thing about our trip? Well, playing with the orphan children was great. Washing feet and distributing shoes to needy children was awesome. Watching people's vision improve dramatically when we fitted them with the right eyeglass lenses was wonderful. But by far the best thing was allowing God to speak to us and stir our hearts in the midst of the ministry. It wasn't so much about what WE were doing, but what God was doing in each one of us.

Mission trips aren't about going to a faraway place briefly and coming back to "normal life." They're about being challenged in your walk of faith, and coming back forever changed, with a heart pierced anew with the things that pierce the heart of God. I don't want to go back to "normal." To quote Katie Davis, author of Kisses from Katie, "I was forever ruined for comfort, convenience and luxury, preferring instead challenge, sacrifice, and risking everything to do something I believe in."

A few weeks ago when I was working at the convenience store, a regular customer made a comment about how slow I was being (I had paused before asking if he wanted cash back from his debit card). I get really annoyed when people do this sort of thing. I almost always assume that it's their passive aggressive way of saying, "No, seriously, be faster," or whatever their point is. The next time I saw that guy, I was making coffee while he went back to the cooler to get his regular 6-pack and 2 summer shandies. He got to the counter just before I did and asked, "Are you working today, Sarah?" I answered I was and he said, "Are you sure?" That really irritated me. The guy can't wait a few seconds? I mean, I was right behind him. He saw I was there. So, then I thought that I'd show him how much he annoyed me by giving him looks as I rang up his stuff. Maybe I'd smile with gritted teeth or roll my eyes, anything to show him he was being a jerk. 

Days before our big move to our new home, my daughter, Missouri, asked if it was okay to like something now that you once made fun of or even claimed you hated.