I got my hair good and wet, lathered up nice and thick, and then, without much further thought, opened my eyes and let the foam run right down into them.

Fortunately, the labeling on the bottle was as accurate as could be.  As crazy as it sounds, the shampoo cause no noticable irritation to my eyes.  Satisfied that my hypothesis was now proven however, I began to ponder what I later realized was the real lesson from this little experiment…

Are we, as those who label themselves "Christians", as forthright in our own labeling?  Can others count on us to be as gentle and tender as the One whose name we so proudly bear?  Please, share your thoughts with me!

And, by the way, feel free to try this on your own.  That fresh baby smell alone is worth it.  =)

Couple great excerpts from the article:

• What emerged from Pritchard's keynote talk was not a passion for the
  environment so much as a passion for people, their health and
  well-being, and particularly for social justice. "If our abuse of the
  environment raises, for example, the rate of debilitating asthma
  attacks, then it is a compassion issue for the church." (Rusty Pritchard, Co-Founder of Flourish)

• South Atlanta pastor Leroy Barber spoke of how his church worked to
  "green my 'hood." His parishioners live with all the unsightly and
  unsanitary things other Atlanta neighborhoods avoid: chemical plants,
  an auto impound lot from another municipality, a landfill, poor public
  transportation. He described his church's efforts to improve the lives
  of their neighbors through economic development, health and nutrition
  programs, and even pedestrian safety campaigns. "That's good news for
  the poor," he said.

• The dominant spiritual message was the need for neighbor love and the social justice activity neighbor love entails.

• A number of social justice ministries were represented at the conference. The most popular booth belonged to Land of a Thousand Hills Coffee,
  (a Share5 Partner ministry!) with its slogan–"Drink Coffee. Do Good."–and its endless urns of
  really good joe. The ministry helps Rwandan genocide survivors to form
  coffee-growing co-ops, then helps them speed their best beans to market
  where they command top prices. These co-op farmers typically increase
  their revenues by a factor of 4.5, exceeding the prices paid in
  fair-trade programs. Land of a Thousand Hills markets their product to
  and through churches.

            (all excerpts pulled directly from the Christianity Today article…)

It is great to hear that there is a movement of compassion finding its way into all corners of Chrisitanity today.  If not compassionate, what are we when it comes to our daily lives?  If we lack compassion, can we really call ourselves Christ-like?

1. One man can start a movement.
2. A movement need not be started by the most skilled member of the movement.
3. When beginning your movement and you look around and no one else is joining the dance, just keep dancing.
4. When the one guy who joins your movement slowly fades away, keep going.
5. Before you know it, the people joining your movement won’t even know you started it.
6. When your movement takes a life of it’s own, just let go. There will be no stopping it.
7. The very people who are staring at you like your nuts as you movement alone, will be the very same people dancing the hardest in the end.

The very next blog I read was from my friend, photographer Daley Hake.  Daley's blog entries are typically photos with an artistic eye.  Today was different.  Today he opted instead for a thousand words.  Today he gave his heart in narrative form about something he is passionate about… seeing justice happen for 12 teenage girls entrapped is sexual exploitation in Honduras.  He implored his readers to take up the cause, to begin a movement.  (Read the full article here) 

He asked people to stop sitting on the grass on the sideline watching the dance and to begin dancing.

Way to go Daley.  We're in.  Thanks for showing us how to dance. 

What will your response be?

Compassion, Sacrifice, Passion, Teamwork, Leadership – they are the things movements are made of.  Start one or join one, but don't just stand around and watch everyone else dance!

I know that my mother was a part of a Billy Graham crusade when she was just a young lady.  She has shared the story with me many times.  Mom- this one is for you.  It’s your chance to thank him for the invitation so many years ago while blessing him on his 90th birthday.

As for me, Mr. Graham, thank you for changing one woman who birthed one boy who heard the story who is now doing his part to see your legacy continue.  May God bless you as you have blessed this world with His message.  You are a great example of what it means to share your life with others.

We are waiting to find out how a funding request is going to turn out.  We are waiting for a response to our proposal for sponsorship, donation, or consideration on an RV from the dealership.  We are waiting for outstanding invoices from our consulting work to be paid.  We are waiting to find out if some investments we made are going to prove valuable or not.  We are waiting for an offer on our house, or the right rental scenario.  In short, we are waiting, and waiting is frustrating.

But waiting does one thing (at least) that is good.  It tests you.  It tests your resolve.  It tests your ability to not outreach your means, and it seems to be good for keeping you out of trouble.  Jesus was good at waiting.  He didn’t rush, and He didn’t get ahead of the plan.  He even taught his disciples to wait as one of his last instructions to them.  He told them to go to a room in a specific city and WAIT.  He said when they did, they would receive power.  A couple days later His reasoning became apparent, and the result rocked the world. 

So I guess waiting is OK…  I’m going to go wait now.  =)

We have been encouraged and strengthened by his visit, and wanted to share a bit of his message that he spoke as he visited our church, The Life Church, in Boise.  His message entitled “What’s on your staff” alluded to the tradition of carving a historical reference or “story” into a person’s walking stick or staff. (no we’re not talking employees!) He talked about how it was customary for someone to use a knife to mark or carve on their staff to tell all the stories of important things that had happened to them.

Sackey used the illustration of a dying Jacob in Hebrews 11:21 who “leaned on his staff as he worshipped”.  The miracles, the faithfulness, the times that God had delivered him;  all were there for recollection as he “leaned” on the faithfulness of his God.   As we look at our lives as Christians, what do we have to lean on?  Where do we go when we need to recall all the things God brought us out of, the things He’s delivered us from?  We talk about the value of journaling or keeping a diary, yet few do so.  It is important to have a reference to the faithfulness of God in the past when we are uncertain if He will come through for us again.  The word resounds with God’s faithfulness, and our own experiences should show the same if we will only recall them!

In another illustration, Pastor Sackey spoke of the story of Moses at the burning bush, where God tells Moses to lay down his staff.  God transforms the staff to a snake, and then asks him to pick it up again.  What if, during that transformation, God erased all the bad history on that staff, clearing it for the new history of power, miracles, and provision God was about to write through Moses?  (remember:  the snake was the same symbol that God used at the top of the staff to later heal the Israelites in Numbers 21:8 – a prophesy to Jesus on the cross…) Is it possible that God, through Jesus, has erased our “staff”, and is rewriting our history, replacing it with “His Story”, His faithfulness?  After all, those who are in Christ are called a NEW CREATION.  The old is gone, and the new is come!

What was on your "staff" before you were saved and set free? What things in your life do you still hang on to that should have been laid down and erased from your past so you can fill your staff with the things that God has ordained for you? What stories are you going to leave for your children to read about, and later to lean on for themselves?