Hope Lives - Week 4 - Be the Change

Although the reading of this book has come to an end, this is really the beginning of a new journey ~ a journey in which we can discover how to BE THE CHANGE.

So how can we BE the change? One way is through child sponsorship. If you read this blog then you likely already sponsor a child. But what else can you do?

What else can you do?

What else?

This is one of my favorite questions because it begs me to think beyond the obvious. Once I've gotten the obvious out of the way, I can begin to think beyond - to think into the what else.

One of the ways I discover the answers to "what else?" is through regular coaching. This is a service Compassion offers to all advocates, and I cannot recommend it highly enough. I have been coaching regularly (every other week) for over a year, and I leave each conversation with clarity and tangible next steps.

Through coaching I have been able to discover how God has equipped me for this journey. I love the opening quote to this final week in Hope Lives.

"The journey of serving those in need is, in essence, the journey of following Christ. And God has created each person uniquely for the journey, giving each one spiritual gifts, skills and passions with which to serve him, to the be the change we want to see in the world."

It's so true that God has given each one of us unique gifts and skills for serving Him. I hope you were/are able to take time to work through the exercises and questions Amber poses in this weeks' readings.

So what have I learned from this read through? I was reminded of the power of prayer - in all things and for all things. Prayer first, prayer second and prayer third. And then, when all else fails, pray some more. I tend to fall on prayer as a last resort instead of a intentional priority.

In week 3, I was personally convicted by this quote....

according to Mother Theresa the greatest poverty is "to decide that a child must die so that you may live as you wish." p. 109

That seems pretty harsh, but there is enough truth in it to convict me. I cannot, no matter how hard I try, save every child from death, disease, hunger, etc. But my choices do add up, and I can make better choices every day that will benefit more people than just myself. I can BE THE CHANGE with daily choices I make.

I'll leave you with this final quote (also from week 3) from Wess Stafford....

"You change the life of a child, you change a family. You change a family, you change a church. You change a church, you change a community. You change a community, you change a nation."

It might not be that simple, but it's definitely a place to start. I have witnessed how child sponsorship changes a child AND a family. I can only hope (and trust God) that bigger changes are also taking place. I know that child sponsorship has changed me and my family. And as more and more people within my church sponsor children, I can see how child sponsorship will change our church. Often we think of the change needing to take place in the developing world, but the reality is that WE desperately need the change as well.

Thank you for reading through this book with me. I would love to hear from you ~ to hear how this book has affected you and what you have learned.

Hope Lives - Week 4 - Guest Post by Jennifer Wilson

Jennifer Wilson is an advocate for Compassion. She has traveled to Peru to meet a sponsored child and her husband has traveled to Guatemala with Compassion. Jennifer writes regularly at Random Thoughts and has contributed here at Compassion Family in the past.

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“Prayer is not just a thoughtful thing I do on the side, as I do the “real” work of helping others; prayer is the work.” pg. 119

I am a problem solver by nature.  I am such an A type personality, that I think I may be an A+!  To be honest, prayer is hard for me to trust.  I want to always be doing something.  I want to have a grand scheme or dynamic plan.  I don’t like to trust things to God.

I want to say that the reason I have trouble trusting things to God is because he has called me to serve and that we must not be simply hearers of the word, but doers of it also.  But when I really examine my heart, I realize that the reason I don’t trust more things to prayer is because I think I know how things should go or I have a “if it is going to get done, I will just have to do it myself” mentality.

Often, I will come to my wits' end or just not know how to help or what to do and I will have no other choice but to pray and do nothing else.  Then when God actually answers that prayer, without my “help” I am somewhat surprised and think, “Wow, that actually worked.  I need to try that more often!” – But then I quickly forget again.

On page 120, it says, “God doesn’t have to work through prayers to restore this world, but he’s chosen to honor me as his masterpiece created to do good works – how could I not pray?”  Again, stating that praying is indeed a good work. It is necessary and vital.  It is not something to make us feel good or just allows us to say, “I am praying for you,” when we don’t know what else to say. 

Have you ever had anyone who, when you told them something was wrong, stopped immediately to pray with you.  They didn’t say, “I will pray for you,” and then go on talking about the problem…not that there isn’t a time for that occasionally.  But they actually believe that prayer was vital enough to do it now and not later.  It makes such a difference to me when someone does that.  It makes me realize that it is between me and God in the first place and me and the person I am talking to second.  It takes them out of the role of being the one who comforts and counsels and puts me in direct contact with the One who can give all I need.

“Not only does God work through prayer to change this world, God works through prayer to change me.”… 

“Praying continually doesn’t just change what I do – it changes why I do it”…  

“I’m messed up.  Even with my best intentions, my motivations and ways meander.  I start well – I really want to help that one girl I know.  And I end badly – I really want praise for what I’ve done.  I start badly – I give money because I feel guilty.  And I end well – I learn humility from those I serve.” pg. 128.

This seems like it is the story of my Christian walk!  I find that my sinful nature is always trying to taunt or entice me by pride and success.  When I earnestly pray, these things have less pull on me and I am able to see things the way God wants me to see them.

I love the prayer ideas the author offers on Day 18.  I think one of the downfalls of my prayer life is that I don’t plan or think of it enough.  It is more often “on the fly” than it is concentrated and scheduled – which is odd for me, since I am such a structured person.  I have found that when I put the ideas she gives into practice, I place much more importance on prayer and less on what I can do.

The ideas listed on pages 131-132 are:

• Commit to pray for those in need at the same time each day for a set period of time.
• Build longer times of prayer into your schedule.
• Plan what you’ll pray for
• Pray specifically
• Pray for things you’re passionate about
• Pray in a structured way
• Pray for the larger body of Christ

In addition to the ideas she has given, one thing I have recently started doing that has improved my prayer life immensely is to start praying the scriptures.  I learned this from a Beth Moore study.  It not only keeps my eyes in the Word of God, but it keeps my prayers from being a laundry list and reminds me just who God has been since the beginning of time! 

Sometimes as sponsors, we wish we could do more for our sponsored children.  But praying for them and telling them specifically what we are praying for them can be the best help we can give them.  And as we pray, we are changed as we are changed, the change in us affects those around us and then their hearts may be changed…and the ripple goes on and on.

Hope Lives - Week 3 - Guest Post by Aimee Esparaz

Aimee Esparaz is an advocate for Compassion Canada and writes regularly at A Mom on a Mission. Last summer her family traveled to the Philippines to see Compassion's work first hand.

This past week, as I prepared my heart to write this blog post, many thoughts swirled around in my head... I thought to myself, "How do I even start to write about understanding poverty when I don't even think that I fully grasp what poverty truly means and stands for in its entirety?"

How do I even begin? What can I say? Where do I start?

As I began to string thoughts into words, I felt a nudge from inside of me saying, "Start with your story!" So, friends... that is where I will begin this blog post... my story!

You see, there was a time when I didn't understand poverty. 

I looked down on the poor. I thought things like, "They must be lazy, that's why they're poor." or "They should look a little harder for a job so they can dig themselves out of this hole." or "If they don't want to help themselves, then they must deserve to live like that." 

In the midst of my hardheartedness, God started to do a beautiful thing in my heart. Through opportunities to pack Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes each Christmas and through opportunities to make and serve dinner to the homeless community right here in our city, He began to speak to me. 

And, I began to see!

I began to see the causes of poverty {for more on the causes of poverty, please refer to pages 89-90 of Hope Lives}... many of which are beyond one's control... social injustice, a lack of education and opportunity, racism, corruption in government... just to name a few!

Beginning to see was just that, the beginning. Little did I know, God wasn't finished yet! He relentlessly pursued me... in order to do more work in my heart, in order to lead me to more action. Through my girl who wanted nothing else for Christmas one year but a little sister from Compassion International, God plunged us into child sponsorship! For our family, all of a sudden poverty had a face... in the form of a little girl from India and her name is Annu! {For more on The Faces of Poverty, please refer to pages 95-100 of Hope Lives.}

Over the last few years, as our Compassion family grew, our understanding of poverty also grew. Last Summer, our family went on a self-guided missions immersion trip to the Philippines. We visited our Compassion daughter, Florianlyn and also our LDP student, Rochelle.

During those visits, we were confronted head-on with the harsh reality of poverty, not just Florianlyn and Rochelle's poverty of too little but also of our own poverty of too much, soul poverty! Needless to say, we all came home changed... each one differently, yet all in a good way. {For more on Soul Poverty, please refer to pages 107-112 of Hope Lives.}

One word that kept coming up during our entire trip was HOPE... in the midst of extreme poverty, we always saw hope! What a beautiful truth --- that there is always hope... for those trapped in the poverty of too little and for those of us who find ourselves ensnared in the poverty of too much. 

There is always hope because of the One whose love never ends, whose faithfulness is great, whose mercies begin afresh each morning! {For more on Hope, please refer to pages 102-105 of Hope Lives where you can read an interview the author did with Wess Stafford, President of Compassion International.}

You cannot have a more powerful word to describe the cure for poverty or for empty hearts that should be reaching out to poverty than hope. ~ Wess Stafford.

So, does my story have an ending?

Thankfully, no. Thankfully, it is a continuing journey... a journey towards more understanding... most days, by God's grace alone, winning the fight against the poverty of too much!

When our family chooses to rebuild two homes instead of buy a new TV, we know God's grace is at work. When we find joy in simply knowing that we've improved Florianlyn's life even by just a tad bit, we know that God continues to do His work in us.

This story is a work-in-progress... as the Potter continues to shape and mold... beautifully crafting this life so that one day it will reflect His radiance.  

I will, however, end this blog post with where Amber Van Schooneveld, the author of Hope Lives, started this chapter, Week 3: Understanding Poverty... and that is, a challenge "for such a time as this."

For such a time as this...

Will you say, "Here I am. Lord, send me."?

Will you join in the fight to eliminate extreme poverty in our lifetime? 

These are unprecedented times! Even though today the number of people living with extreme poverty, defined as living with less than $1.25 a day, has been reduced by half from its 1990 numbers, there are still over 1 billion people in our world today in that category.

Friends, let's join God as He moves to heal, to love and to restore... because Hope lives!

Hope Lives - Week 2 - God is Not Silent

Have you ever noticed that by rearranging the letters in SILENT you get the word LISTEN?

SILENT

LISTEN

LISTEN happens to by my one word for 2012, so I was excited to reach week 2 of this journey and make this discovery.

God is not SILENT when it comes to the subject of poverty. The truth of the matter is that many of us are just not LISTENING.

In both the Old and New Testaments, God gives us directions, command if you will, about how we are to love our neighbors. Did you know there are 8 verses that mention "loving our neighbors as ourselves" in Scripture?

Leviticus 19:18 ~ "Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself." 

Matthew 19:19 ~ "honor your father and mother, and 'love your neighbor as yourself.'" 

Matthew 22:37-39 ~ "Jesus replied: 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" 

Mark 12:30-31 ~ "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these." 

Mark 12:33 ~ "To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices." 

Luke 10:27 ~ "He answered: 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" 

Romans 13:9 ~ "The commandments, 'Do not commit adultery,' 'Do not murder,' 'Do not steal,' 'Do not covet,' and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' " 

Galations 5:14 ~ "The entire law is summed up in a single command: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" 

James 2:8 ~ "If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, 'Love your neighbor as yourself,' you are doing right."

I don't think it's a mistake that this command is repeated so often. God knows we are slow to listen and need to hear the same thing many times. My own two daughters know they are supposed to make their beds and get dressed every morning before coming downstairs. Yet I find myself reminding them almost daily.

We need to be reminded on a daily basis to "love our neighbors as ourselves." We are selfish beings by nature ~ instinctively looking our for our best interests and satisfying our own needs. God is asking us to be aware to those around us and respond to their needs, not only with our wealth, but also with our time, attention, affections, love, respect and dignity.

I would love to hear how God is speaking to you through this study. Please take a moment to share what has been significant to you so far on this journey.

Hope Lives - Week 1 - Guest Post by Juli Jarvis

Juli Jarvis has been an advocate for Compassion since 1994. She loves speaking for Compassion and hosts several Compassion Sundays each year. In the past 17 years, her efforts have resulted in more than 550 sponsorships. Juli has had the privilege of traveling to see the work of Compassion in Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Thailand and the Philippines. Juli writes at Sheep Droppings.

The first weekly theme of Hope Lives is “The Poverty of the Heart.”  I’ve been thinking about this a lot.  What does it mean to be in poverty?  We usually think of it as a lack of resources, but Compassion International teaches us that it is much more – it is a lack of choices; it’s about not reaching your full potential in Christ. 

So what does it mean to have “Poverty of the Heart?”  I’ve been studying about the Israelites in the wilderness, and how God provided Bread from Heaven, manna.  God said an interesting thing to Moses: 

“I am Yahweh.  I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as God Almighty (El Shaddai), but I did not reveal My name Yahweh to them.”  (Ex. 6:2-3)

But God did reveal the name of Yahweh to the Patriarchs (“I Am that I Am,” usually translated “LORD”).  So what did He mean when He said “I did not reveal My name Yahweh to them?“  I think it meant that although they knew His name, they did not know Him as their deliverer yet.  The Israelites would not experience God in this way until Moses led them out of slavery, out of bondage.  They needed to experience His deliverance, and it was time for this new revelation of God’s character.

There is an experiencing of God that is far greater than just knowing about Him.  In her study, When Godly People Do Ungodly Things, Beth Moore talks about knowing God’s Word in a deeper way than just reading it:

“Much of the body of Christ exists on very little of the actual Word of God.  Secondly, many of those who get a steady diet of the Word of God don’t deliberately receive it (by applying it) through and through…we say the Word of God is food for our souls, but do we give the Holy Spirit freedom and authority to use it to increasingly transform our entire personalities?”  (Study Guide, pg. 83)

So spiritual poverty, or “Poverty of the Heart,” might be not getting enough food, not getting enough of God’s Word, and not having choices, or reaching your full potential spiritually.  Not experiencing God personally.

I was touched deeply by Amber’s story about the girls imprisoned by prostitution on page 32: 

“Help me.  I’m being held as a prisoner, forced to be a prostitute.  Me and four other women are kept locked in a room.  They force us to prostitute, and they won’t let us out.”  

More shocking was Amber’s reaction, which (unfortunately) echoes all of our thoughts at times: 

“Overwhelmed and confused, I shut my mind.  I chose not to believe this tall tale.  I did nothing.  I moved on.”  (pg. 33) 

Are we imprisoned in walls of disbelief, apathy and blindness?  Do we shut our minds off from the needs and oppressions of the poor?  Do we ignore precious lives that have a wealth of potential, if given the chance?  Children like Deborah -- “A diamond God crafted to catch and reflect his light just so, but now kicked in the dirt, muddied, unrecognized, and abandoned.”  (pg. 12) 

My first Compassion sponsor tour was to Haiti to meet a young man I’d sponsored since he was little.  I went there expecting to share my wealth of resources, wealth of spiritual knowledge and wealth of experience with God.  But I left feeling impoverished and poor; they were the ones that were rich, spiritually rich.  They were experiencing God in great hardship, and finding Him to be sufficient.

I’ll never forget sitting outside one of the churches with the Pastor, Project Director, teachers, community leaders and translators.   I leaned over to one of the translators and quietly asked for the name of the Pastor so I could be praying for him.  In an instant, all conversation stopped and each of the Haitians said, “Give her my name, write it down, please pray for me too.”  I saw desperation in their faces, a different kind of desperation, a spiritual one.  They desperately believed in prayer and trusted Him, and felt so strongly about it that they would interrupt all other conversation just to be sure I had their names on my prayer list.  I was really touched by that and their names and character come often to my mind to this day.  I will never forget this great spiritual richness of heart!  

Hope Lives Kickoff - Guest Post by Amber Van Schooneveld

To kick off our read through of Hope Lives: A Journey of Restoration, I asked Amber Van Schooneveld, the author, to write a guest post to prepare us for this journey.....

One of my favorite verses in the Bible is Ephesians 2:10:

"For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

We are God's workmanship—we are each a unique piece of art that God himself lovingly crafted. But we're also not like some useless vase to set on a shelf, doing nothing. God created each piece of art for a purpose.

He has work for each of us to do—good work that will bring God's love and hope and beauty to this earth. 

That's so important. Because when so many people think about poverty, they can get mired down in the ugliness of it all. And there is a lot of ugly. It's often easier to turn our faces away from the immense need in the world around us because it can be overwhelming in its depravity and cruelty. We'd just rather think about something else.

This verse is a beautiful counterpoint to the ugliness of the world: Yes, there are so many needs in this world, but God is weaving a story throughout history of redeeming that world. It's a story that you and I are a part of—he prepared our part in it before we were ever born. He first rescued us, and now we have the great honor of bringing his help and hope to the rest of the hurting world.

This perspective on poverty is such a relief and a blessing. It's so easy to clench up when we hear about the needs out there. That familiar feeling of guilt and obligation tightens our stomachs. Sometimes it's easy to respond with a knee-jerk, not out of love or compassion, but out of a guilty desire to just do our token good deed so that we can not think about it anymore.

God is doing something bigger than that. God has crafted you, and he has crafted a story for you to be a part of. Those "good works" aren't an obligation to check off, but a grand invitation to be part of what God is doing as we follow Christ and become ever more like Him.

So remember that: responding to poverty isn't about doing your duty or being a "good person" or alleviating your guilty conscience. It's about God's desire to use his piece of art—you—to be a part of His story of redeeming this world.

Hope Lives - Community Read Through and a Book Giveaway

**This giveaway is now finished.

Hope Lives: A Journey of Restoration by Amber Van Schooneveld

Join us for a 5 week journey as we embark on a journey to better understand poverty. As a community, we will read through this devotional book and hopefully grow in our knowledge and understanding of God's heart for the poor.

The book is divided into 5 weeks, with 5 daily readings each week.

• Week 1 ~ The Poverty of the Heart....discover what keeps you from engaging in global issues
• Week 2 ~ God is Not Silent...explore what Scripture really says about the poor
• Week 3 ~ Understanding Poverty....understand the true nature of poverty
• Week 4 ~ Prayer....draw close to the poor through prayer
• Week 5 ~ Be the Change....respond to God's voice as he speaks to you about poverty

At the end of each week there are reflection questions and action steps. One thing I love about this book is that is packed full of Scripture. 

And the photos are beautiful ~ every single one of them.

Will you join us as we read through this book as a community? We'll begin the daily readings on Monday, February 27th to coincide with the weeks leading up to Easter. We'll be kicking if off with a guest post from Amber Van Schooneveld herself. Throughout the five weeks there will be other guest posts relating to this book and this journey.

Is there someone you have been wanting to share the ministry of Compassion with? This is the perfect opportunity to invite that person to go through this study with you.

Here are some links where you can buy a copy of this book:

• Amazon (there are used copies for as little as $ .01 plus shipping)
• Christian Book
• Group Publishing
• Compassion

I also have one copy to giveaway!

To enter, simply leave a comment telling me you'd like to win. I will announce a winner on Thursday, February 9th at noon EST.