inspiring watermark...

i love our church! it really is all about being the church, rather than just going to church!
this past week's sermon was all about just hearing from others who are investing their lives, here and now, in what really matters...it was encouraging... (to see the sermon, click here, and then go to 2009 Messages and the title is: Get in the Game: Joining Others Who are already Getting the Job Done.

the main point was that you don't have to go far to get involved. so many of us think that help is only needed abroad; and it costs a lot of money to lend assistance in that way. Watermark is so great at helping it's congregation see the need for help right here in Dallas, or wherever you are!

Next Sunday, 'Gary Haugen, CEO of International Justice Mission, will be talking about our responsibility to seek justice on behalf of the oppressed, and IJM's work to pursue justice for victims of slavery & sexual exploitation and other forms of oppression'. Should be interesting and anyone is invited to come, here are service times.

Todd, our minister, was sharing stories of people, who are giving, and just some real encouraging stories of where people's hearts are and how we can do the same!
it's all about investing in 'what really matters' not what we 'like' or 'find comfort in'.

i want to tell of what my mom did. two years ago, when matt and i went to Africa, my mom was celebrating her 60th birthday one month prior to our trip. she did a wonderful thing! instead of accepting gifts from her group of girlfriends, she asked if they'd instead provide funds, to be donated to the village we were traveling to. just like that we raised $800 to take to the Savelugu-Nanton Village in Northern Ghana. in the blog entry below, Paul Azeka, talks about what that $800 went towards! the village was able to be supplied with lighting along the path, connecting the health clinic to the living area! this is amazing. they've been without light for some time, making it a risky walk after dark, and those funds were able to supply them with the basics!

i love stories like these, when people with the tools, use their resources to provide for people without. it is all part of the "eternal perspective" outlook.
thank you again, mom!

i don't want to sound like i am preaching, or come across as a hypocrite, either. i struggle to get involved here in dallas. starting this week though, i am going to start attending a short 5-week study at watermark called Hope Lives. it is free and i assume it is just going to be a tool, to help us gain more knowledge on how we can get involved locally. i've had some past experiences that have caused me to be fearful of certain parts of dallas, and i hate that that is keeping me from serving here...but i am trying not to give up...

i, too often, feel pity upon those that are less fortunate. i want to instead feel compassion, which causes me to respond, actively and begin to make a difference! if we all pitch in, who knows what could happen!