"Your doing the right thing."

You ever wonder if what you are doing is the right thing? We are in the Christmas season and we often wonder if we got the right gift or if they will even like the gift we bought.  We wait in antcipation as our loved ones open the gifts wrapped in pretty paper and ribbons.  We wait to see the look on their faces as the gift we bought specifically for them is finally shown.  Then we all sit around and talk about how thankful we are that we have so much and how God has blessed us and our family's.  We even pray that God will continue to bless our families....

You ever wonder if you are doing the right thing?  We are in the Christmas season and we often give of our blessings to others.  You get your angel tree kid or you find a group at church that is sponsoring a child or family.  When you are doing your Christmas shopping you grab an extra toy or give money so someone else can go buy it for you.  Then you question if the children will really get the gift or clothes.  We have even went as far as to take the tags out, so those mean and terrible parents can't take them back and get the money or exchange them....

You ever wonder if you are doing the right thing?  We are in the Christmas season and we often spend more time shopping and getting ready for the thrill of opening presents on Christmas morning than we do focusing on what this season really is.  We give Jesus a prayer and some time on the Sunday we celebrate Christmas at church.  We typically show up in our new clothes and new shoes to let everyone know what we got for Christmas.  I am talking to myself too, folks....

You ever wonder if you are doing the right thing?  We are in the Christmas season and we often forget we can give a gift of life rather than a gift of food, clothes, money, or toys.  What if your family opened up presents from you that had a piece of paper in it that read, "DO YOU KNOW JESUS?  I LOVE YOU AND WOULD LIKE TO INTRODUCE YOU TO HIM."  Or would that be too uncomfortable?  Would that be too weird?  Would that be asking too much of us as Christians?

The reason I ask this is because I spent 7 days in Honduras wondering if I did the riight thing.  I wondered from the day I left if I was supposed to be there.  I wondered what I was suppose to see.  I wondered what God had for me in that country.  I am not going to lie, I spent most of the week in Honduras upset because humans didn't care and don't care about what is going on in that country.  I spent most of the week mad because we(CHRISTIANS) say that we love God but don't show His love to the least of these.  I spent most of the week humbled and crying because I felt guilty for everything I had. I can tell you I learned so much about what God needs us to do as Christians, but the real lesson I learned was waiting for me when I returned to my house with my family.  

As I unpacked my suit case, my oldest daughter asked me if I had read her note while I was gone.  I guess she had stuck is way down in the bottom of my suitcase and I never even saw it.  I told her I had not seen the note and I would look for it right then.  As I dug through the dirty clothes and smelled Honduras and sweat all over again, I found a note folded up like it should fit into a bottle.  As I unfolded it, it read:

Then I saw what I was looking for....As I folded the note back up and was going to tell her how much I loved her, I saw it.....

I stood there with tears in my eyes as I read this to my wife and we both just sat with our questions ansered and minds open.  A lesson I had to learn after traveling thousands of miles was taught by my daughter the day I got home.

As adults we wonder if we are doing the right thing.  We wonder about how we should or shouldn't do things....

My 8 year old daughter taught me that when you trust God and follow His lead, "Your doing the right thing."

Being a Christian is not about questioning God....It is about the action of love.  If the Holy Spirit leads you to do something today, don't wait....don't question....just love....without hesitation....

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:8-10 ESV)

My Shadow….His Lesson…

As I got into the truck with Shawn to head to Dallas, I was nervous as a cat on a tin roof.  When we arrived at DFW, I was still nervous about what was going ot happen.  What would these people be like?  How would the plane ride be?  Would it be hot there?  Would the people like me?  Would I really see what I sought out to see?  All these questions were running through my mind and I couldn't help but wonder.  Then I started meeting each person I would be sharing this experience with one by one.  I worried about being accepted by the group and worried I would be too much for them to handle.  Boarding the plane was the final straw.  I knew I was going to Honduras.  I was going to leave my comfortable life with my beautiful wife and 4 awesome kids to go serve in a foreign country.

When the plane touched down in Tegus, my life would never be the same.  I had no idea what would begin to happen in my heart and mind.  God was going to make me so uncomfortable in my own skin, it was crazy.

There are so many stories to tell and I will tell them one by one as I learn the lessons God has taught me.

The Dump....

All week long and ever since I decided to go to Honduras, I heard about the dump and how crazy it was.  I heard all the stories of despair, grief, challenge, smell, people, children, cows, vultures, gangs, lawlessness, poverty, and hope.

On the last day of our week, we finally worked it out to go to the dump.  I was amazed as we begin to drive into the dump.  What hits you first is the smell.  If you have ever smelled rotten eggs and dirty feet with a little bit of dead fish all mixed up together, you would not even begin to come close to what the dump smells like.  Driving in on the bus, we were told to make sure we put all our windows up so no one could reach in and take our valuables.  We were then instructed to make sure we didn't leave any of our cameras or phones laying around or they would become property of the dump.  

Walking off the bus will be a moment I never forget.  My eyes gazed at an amazing landscape.  One where dogs, cows, vultures, and humans live side by side.  I looked at the people who work and live in the dump as they formed 2 lines for the food they were going to receive.  I found myself with feelings of anger at the fact they were even there.  I found myself with feelings of sadness that we as humans have allowed this to happen.

 
I held back tears as I saw young children walking to the back of the truck to get a piece of chicken and a fruit drink.  I wondered what their story was or if I even wanted to know.  As they reached for their chicken, I noticed the dirt and filth on their hands and clothes.  I noticed the miss matched shoes falling off their feet because they didn't fit or were just worn out.

I thought about all my family had and I felt guilty.  I felt like I had never felt before.  I stood in the back of a pickup watching person after person lifted their hands, covered in dirt and grime with finger nails black with filth reaching for some food and  I was angry.  I was angry that humans had allowed this…We had turned our back and allowed this to be…I was mad the country was allowing people to live like this and not do anything about it…All I could do was watch and pray…As I walked off by myself to wipe the tears I had falling off my cheeks,  I noticed my shadow in front of me on the ground of the dump.

I was there.  I wasn't sitting in the comfort of my office, home, car, or restaurant.  I wasn't talking about what we should buy my kids for Christmas.  In that moment, I wasn't worried about what I was going to eat for dinner.  I wasn't worried about what pair of shoes I was going to wear.  I wasn't thinking about anything except what God needed me to do to change this type of situation….I wasn't thinking about how I could make my life better, I was thinking of how I could make others life better….

If you have read this far, you will probably get mad in the next few sentences….

1.  You have more than you need.

2.  You have more than you deserve.

3.  You need to give more to others.

4.  You have a responsibility as a human to help others in need.

5.  If you are a "Christian", you have a command from God to treat others better than yourself.

6.  Your children have more than they need.

7.  If your kids can't tell you what they want for Christmas, think about what that means…

These statements are what went through my mind as I looked at my shadow when I was standing in the dump.  Then I looked up and saw the beauty of Gods love.  I saw God in the eyes of the people living and working in the dump for less than $1.00 to $4.00 a day.  You see, I went to Honduras to do what I thought was mission work for others and in the last day, I finally saw what Gods mission for us really is.  He tells us to love others more than we love ourselves.  We get hung up on all the details of music or no music, shorts or no shorts, hymnals or no hymnals, names on church buildings and whether or not they are the right church because they believe the right thing, doctrine, family, how much money we have in the bank, and the list goes on….

Jesus said, "Whatever you do to the least of these, You have done to me…"

What have you done for others…..