if you need a cause

oh summer......as a teacher during summer I get to do a lot of things i normally don't have time or energy for

- reading
- cleaning
- sitting 
- gardening
- breathing
- serving
- reading
- taking pictures
- keeping up with the news
- reading

and here lately there have been lots of news and lots of reading

and i have came to one conclusion that maybe we just don't know or we get so caught up in our beliefs and our lives that we forget that we are a witness of Jesus, an ambassador of the Lord

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if you need a cause 
if you need something to scream from the mountain top about
to share all over facebook about
to call your best friend about
to teach your children about

i have some for you

• people without clean water.......

1. 783 million people
2. 85% of the world population lives in the driest half of the planet. 783 million people do not have access to clean water and almost 2.5 billion do not have access to adequate sanitation. 6 to 8 million people die annually from the consequences of disasters and water-related diseases.

this is worth talking about, screaming about, thanking jesus every time you turn on the water, take a shower, flush the commode

• hungry people......

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that about 805 million people of the 7.3 billion people in the world, or one in nine, were suffering from chronic undernourishment in 2012-2014.

• people who have never heard of Jesus

You Should Know (English) Video by MUP.ORG from Mustang International on Vimeo.

• people who are poor

At least 80% of humanity lives on less than $10 a day

• people who aren't educated

70 million children

• people who are enslaved

1. The United Nations estimates that roughly 27 to 30 million individuals are currently caught in the slave trade industry. The Global SlaveryIndex 2013 states that 10 nations account for 76 per cent of the world's enslaved. India has the most slaves of any country, at 14 million (over 1% of the population).

• people in America who claim to be Christian

83% !!!!

• orphans in America

1. There are over 120,000 orphans in America, while another 400,000 children live without permanent families (HHS; AFCARS). It is common for children in foster care to age out, leaving them with little financial or emotional support.

• hungry children in America

      1 in 5 children in the U.S. faces hunger

and what does the bible say over and over and over

Matthew 25:35-40 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’

love.......

John 15:12 “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you…”

love.....

Leviticus 19:18 “‘Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.

love.......

1 John 4:19-20 We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.

so you see as Christians we are called to love, not condemn 

if you need a cause....get one that glorifies the name of Jesus, that loves on people, that loves on your neighbors and your fellow Christians, that spreads the Kingdom of God.

  

We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. 

 2 Corinthians 5"20

holding on to the todays

i looked though the 400+  photos of the last few months
these months that have barely allowed time for breathing and bathroom breaks
and you know what i found

adventure
smiles
memories
sunrises and sunsets
baseball games
family
critters
curiousness
and cuddles

this beautiful life we live
captured in time

and i breathed a sigh of relief that we made it through
another school year - on to 4th grade!
storms both outside and inside
baseball season
3 year old stubbornness
awards ceremonies and family gatherings 
speaking at church

and i wouldn't change a thing
good thing to because
we don't get to go back and redo
we don't live in yesterdays 

we live in today

and pray for our tomorrows

*glad to be back to blogging....took a few months off...and i have missed it so*