FlowerDust.net

does trust have to be earned? i’ll post my thoughts later this week.

before we get to blogging…i thought i would update you guys with the unofficial count of malaria nets you donated in the 50 hour challenge last week…somewhere around 110 or so in under 50 hours!! and that is just from here…so many of you spread the word and i know many more were donated! thank you so much!

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today’s guest blog is actually from two guest bloggers…our compassion child in ethiopia (abdukerim, he just turned 6!) and from our compassion child in uganda (linet, she is about to turn 10! i met linet on our trip).

from abdukerim:

Chris & Anne Jackson,

How are you? Praise God! I am alright! I enjoyed Christmas by worshiping at the church and with my family at home. With your Christmas gift (about $15 USD) I got a blanket, a t-shirt, purchased some Christmas presents, and the rest was handed to me. God bless you! How did you celebrate Christmas? Pray for my family! Goodbye!

and from linet:

Chris & Anne,

I greet you in the name of Jesus Christ! Linet is fine and very happy to communicate to you. She says…

I was so excited to meet you at the hotel the last time you visited Uganda. I was SO SO happy and also grateful that you love, care, and support me and my family.

I hope you arrived in your country safely. I pray for you and you will always be in my prayers. Thank you very much for all the gifts you brought and gave me. Thank you for the two teddy bears, play dishes, photo frame, utensils, toys, scarfs, bubbles, the two bedsheets, stickers, flute, jump rope and for the bracelets. I love them very much and I will use them well and accordingly.

I love you very much and I will study very hard at school. God bless you!

chris and i got the letter from abdukerim one day, and from linet the next. we’ve only been sponsoring them both for under a year and we have gotten 2-3 letters from each of them. the front of our fridge is mostly covered with them.

communicating with your compassion child is so important. shaun shares about daniel, a boy he met while he was visiting the dominican republic last week. all daniel wants is for his sponsor to write more. you need to read shaun’s post. for reals.

if you’re not currently sponsoring a child, you can explore that a little bit here.

Pete Wilson is the pastor at Cross Point Church in Nashville, Tennessee. If you think this post rocks, you should read the rest of his blog!

Pete writes:

Let me tell you a little about myself. I’m a pastor. A husband. A father to three little boys. A friend. A Christ follower.

And I’m an addict.

I’m addicted to noise and chaos. I’m addicted to it in the kind of way that makes my life feel totally out of control and overwhelming at times.

And the worst part of my addiction is that I have recently realized that I don’t really “know” Scripture. Oh make no mistake about it. I can quote it, preach it, and debate it, but I’m not sure that I really “know it.”

And I bet I’m not alone. It seems as if we have been conditioned in our culture towards this addiction. We live in a day of unprecedented opportunities to stimulate our minds.

We have blogs, television, text-messaging and 24-hour news. We have iPods, satellite radio, and who could forget? Twitter. Everywhere we go there is some kind of message that is trying to attach itself to our minds.

We pretend as if the problem to knowing Scripture is a lack of access.

So, we have made the Bible more accessible than ever. We have dozens of translations. We have the Men’s, Women’s, and teens’ study Bibles. We have the camo Bible for the hunter. We have a Bible designed just for your purse. We have the digital Bible for your handheld or the audio Bible for your iPod. My favorite is the “waterproof” Bible that one publisher recently sent me.

Never has it been easier to access the Scriptures, but never has it been harder to absorb them.

Even if you’re taking time to read the scriptures, when do you have time to absorb them? When are you escaping the noise and chaos of your life?

And the problem is not what you think it is. You have time. You can make time. But you don’t. Why?

Because you’re addicted to the noise and probably even a little scared of what life would be without it.

Henri Nouwen wrote in “The Way of the Heart”…

“In solitude I get rid of my scaffolding: no friends to talk with, no telephones calls to make, no meetings to attend, no music to entertain, no books to distract, just me - naked, vulnerable, weak, sinful, deprived, broken-nothing. It is this nothingness that I have to face in my solitude, a nothingness so dreadful that everything in me want to run to my friends, my work, and my distractions so that I can forget my nothingness and make myself believe that I am worth something.”

I want to encourage you to take some time to drop your scaffolding and get naked. Run from the chaos and dial down the noise. I want to encourage you to quiet your life. Simply, simplify. Put yourself in a place where you can absorb God’s grace and love and message for your life.

What do you think?

i realize it has been pretty quiet around these parts lately.

(insert tumbleweed blowing across a desert here).

the last few weeks i have been in a season of listening instead of talking. a time of reflection and prayer.

so, i’m still around. and no doubt, i’ll be writing again soon. quite honestly, i haven’t much to say at the moment.

i pray you’ll humor me and stick around. this week, i’m having some friends write some guest blogs for me…and trust me, you won’t want to miss them!

a friend of mine was talking about mother theresa yesterday…how she was significantly influential, but “to influence” was never her pursuit…” she only wanted to love and care for the sick, the unloved, the least, the dying. to allow the actions of jesus to be expressed in her everyday life.

it made me think of this quote from an oswald chamber’s sermon:

“The people who influence us the most are not those who detain us with their continual talk, but those who live their lives like the stars in the sky and “the lilies of the field”— simply and unaffectedly. Those are the lives that mold and shape us.

If you want to be of use to God, maintain the proper relationship with Jesus Christ by staying focused on Him, and He will make use of you every minute you live— yet you will be unaware, on the conscious level of your life, that you are being used of Him.”

i pray to be this kind of influencer.

so, i thought 50 nets in 50 hours would be a challenge for you guys.

BOY WAS I WRONG!!

you have already donated 68 nets! in less than 24 hours.

so…i’m raising the ante!

let’s make it 100 nets.

32 to go.

AND…moviepastor.com will match the next TEN NETS DONATED!

so, if you buy a net now, leave a comment here and also at his blog. because that just freaking rocks!

let’s hit 100!!

ready, set, go!

what if everyone in the city of detriot died?

that’s the impact malaria has on the world EVERY YEAR. around one million people, including 750,000 children, die from malaria. and what sucks is that it’s completely preventable!! because of poverty, families can’t afford to buy nets or pay for treatment.

today, 3,000 children died from malaria…while we were all talking about what we’d do with an extra ten bucks.

but with ten bucks, you can make a change. you can bite back.

ten dollars provides a mosquito net that will protect a child from mosquitoes for THREE YEARS. it also provides education and treatment for those who have malaria.

i’d like to present a challenge to you. april 25 is world malaria day. and i want to see at least 50 people from this blog community donate at least $10 to buy a child a net in the next 50 hours (by 7 pm CST on Friday).

50 nets in the next 50 hours.

super easy.

FIRST…

click HERE to leave a comment and let me know you’ve donated.

THIRD…
spread the word. post about this on your blog. steal the graphic!

here’s the code:

<a href="http://www.flowerdust.net/2008/04/23/malaria-prevention"><img src="http://www.flowerdust.net/images/malaria-prevention.jpg" alt="$10 to Prevent Malaria" /></a>

50 hours. 50 nets. let’s do it!!

what would you do with it?

we have had a great time in nashville, getting to hang out with so many truly amazing people, some were old friends, and some were new. we are driving home now & we just passed through memphis and are driving through arkansas.

i met brock face to face at the compassion dinner last night and because he remembers stuff much better than me, i am stealing this from him. the guest speaker at the dinner was tony neeves, (VP of international development for compassion)…a lovely british gentleman with humble and challenging thoughts.

one that stood out to me was “children in poverty aren’t the problem. children in poverty are the solution.” he went on to say that these children are “bundles of potential” — and if they receive positive support, they have the potential to be world-changers in the best way possible. yet if they aren’t loved, aren’t cared for, they have the potential to be world-changers in the worst possible way.

wow.

other things (from brock):

third world people press their faces against the windows of our lives because of technology, internet, tv etc. and they feel as if they have no hope. it is because they are seeing soap operas and game shows on tv and see how we live. they cant afford a bowl of rice. they realize they have nothing and have no hope.

also, churches in western world are far more introverted than third world churches. this must change.

and, third world churches are growing fast in some areas not because of a great pastor or sermons but they are loving people and meeting needs. then the community sees the love and want what they have.”

a few other highlights from the trip:

i honestly don’t listen to much christian music. but i did when i was 13. a little bit of me thought it was cool when toby mac walked into starbucks. then i realized how truly cool i was when jenni went to hug him. (julie, i thought you’d get a kick out of that!) :)

we got to hang out some with mark and stephanie lee. mark plays the guitar in amazing ways for a band called third day. again, it’s probably been a good decade since i really listened to third day, but as we saw them play at a showcase, some of their new material really really touched chris and me in ways only god could know.

it was just truly amazing to reconnect with some of the uganda bloggers. twice.

i really wish i could link to everyone we met and hung out with but i am about to have to drive. so to all of you, thank you for making us feel so welcome!!

chris and i are headed to nashville tonight for a little mini-vacation and i am not going to be blogging while we are there. i will be twittering and maybe even live video-casting via mogulus (if i’m having an adequate enough hair day). :)

to keep you busy during my absence, i thought i’d leave you with a few blogs (people from nashville to keep the theme) i am enjoying, and also one more opportunity to sponsor a child!

you should check out:

–pete wilson
–brody harper
–brock gill
–spence smith
–shaun groves
–randy elrod

is it just me or does everyone in nashville have great hair?

and you should sponsor:

liz.

LIZ HAS BEEN SPONSORED. THANK YOU! click here to go directly to liz’s sponsor page.

kim from baltimore sponsored pravallika earlier today. pravallika is an orphan. when i was searching for another child to post on here, i noticed something i guess i had skimmed over for some reason in the past: you can select a child with special needs.

liz is obviously a beautiful girl from uganda. but what you can’t tell from the picture is that she is both deaf and mute. and she is an orphan, too.

from the site:

Liz lives on the plains of Kyesiga Parish, Kyamukaka Subcounty, home to approximately 12,000 residents. Typical houses are constructed of dirt floors, mud walls and thatch roofs. The primary ethnic group is Bantu and the most commonly spoken language is Luganda.

The regional diet consists of maize, beans, bananas, fish, cassava and potatoes. Common health problems in this area include malaria, worms and HIV/AIDS. Most adults are unemployed but some work as subsistence farmers and earn the equivalent of $5 per month. This community needs capital for income generating activities, scholastic materials and farming tools.

LIZ HAS BEEN SPONSORED. THANK YOU! click here to go directly to liz’s sponsor page.

you guys and gals are making a HUGE difference by sponsoring these children. it means the world to me, but more importantly, it means life and freedom and love to these children and their families. so thank you.

see you all in a few days!

you know how sometimes you can look at someone - a complete stranger - and know that they have “it?” you can see in their eyes and their smile that they have what it takes to make a huge difference in the world.

i want you to meet pravallika.

she is eight years old and lives in a rural area of india called kurnool. typical houses are constructed of dirt floors, grass walls and thatch roofs. most adults in kurnool are unemployed but some work as day laborers and earn the equivalent of $38 per month.

i love her eyes. her smile. her confidence. and you would have never guessed it, but she’s an orphan.

yep. that beautiful, smiling, confident girl is an orphan. both of her parents died. she lives with her grandmother and two siblings.

she is only eight, but it looks like she has the wisdom of an adult.

whoever sponsors pravallika will no doubt be very, very proud of her. i wonder how bright her future will be!

KIM FROM BALTIMORE IS NOW SPONSORING PRAVALLIKA! WOOHOO!

you can sponsor pravallika by going directly to her sponsor page here.

note: please do not click the “select this child” button unless you are sure you would like to sponsor her, as doing so will make her page unavailable for an hour or so.

thank you all so much for the sponsorships so many of you have already committed to. chris and i got letters from both of our sponsor kids a week ago and it just rocked. linet wrote us an entire page and drew some awesome pictures for us. it’s truly amazing knowing that not only are we praying for them, they pray for us!

ever since returning from africa, i’ve wondered something.

is it just me, or does THE CHURCH seem to have its funds distributed fairly unequally?

if we are all THE CHURCH (made up of individual, local churches)

and, if we are shown an example in acts 2:44-45:

All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need.

then why:

is there a hard working children’s pastor making $75/week and who gets his office furniture from the side of the road because his church can’t afford to buy him any?

are churches closing because they don’t have enough money to sustain ministry?

edit: and i won’t even go into listing things that are broken in churches around the globe and in impoverished countries.

when:

other churches are building multi-million dollar facilities…in the same town, on the same road, right across the street from each other?

…i could make this list longer, but i am sure you get the point.

like really.

why?

as i’ve said before, this whole book writing process has been fun because of the input you all have. so, after having some initial chats about direction and look and feel for the book, they have landed on two concepts.

these are the drafts, and as such i need to explain a little bit.

the words behind the title are true (but anonymous) stories that people submitted through the mad church disease website during the month the surveys were open. this is how people REALLY feel.

in the first image (A), these are reversed out from the texture. in the second image (B), what the plan will be is to print out the chosen pieces of the stories (and change their font/type size, etc. to make some stand out) and use a photograph of that behind the illustration. currently it is just a similar photograph of bible verses. but, you get the idea!

the marketing and creative directors and i have already talked through these with a few opinions from some lifechurch.tv staff, my agent, and some friends. so we kind of already have a “gut” feeling and some thoughts on changes…but this is where you get to help confirm us (or scare us in another direction!)

what do you think? what do you like? not like? what would you change?

would love to hear your thoughts!!

so, my brain is fried. i did my taxes a few months ago but refused to file them until today. the verdict? i owe $1165. how nice that i am also getting a rebate for $1200. so i feel like i wasted a few hours for nothing! :) 35 bucks though. that’s almost a tank of gas for my sweet little fuel-efficient jetta!

anyway, chris and i had coffee last night with a new friend of ours from oklahoma city. he’s guest blogged here before…and most of you know him as the youtube pastor that accidentally said “pinch his t*ts” instead of “pitch his tents.” clueless? go here and watch for yourself.

well, our friend said something along the lines of, “since coming back from africa, you have obviously changed. and it’s all over your blog, too.”

for some reason that kind of surprised me! i know i have blogged more about sponsoring kids and stuff, but i dunno. you guys read this thing. do you think it’s changed?

i’d love to hear your thoughts.

oh, and bonus…later today i will be posting some cover art for mad church disease to get your thoughts!

i hadn’t got online yet. my computer has been acting funny so i rebooted. as it started up with the reassuring whirl of a hard drive booting, i turned on my space heater, and returned to my desk.

opening up firefox [the browser of choice], my eyes skimmed down my news section as i typically do every morning.

my heart got stuck in my throat, and i couldn’t breathe when i read this headline:

SCHOOL FIRE KILLS UGANDA CHILDREN

I clicked, tears already welling up in my eyes.

A Red Cross worker told the BBC that it is difficult to identify the bodies as sometimes only pieces of bodies are being found.

all my mind can see right now are the all the girls sophie and i played ball with two afternoons. their smiling faces, their bright eyes, their laughter. their silliness as they would catch and tumble and drop the ball. the sing-song in their voices.

to clarify, the school in the story is not the school we visited. but i have no doubt the girls are just like the ones we were playing with. hugging. loving. laughing with.

linet, the girl chris and i sponsor from uganda is nine. i just cannot imagine it.

my heart is breaking today, probably in the deepest way since returning from africa. i keep crying. i am really glad i have an office to myself right now.

i am about to email our team that went to uganda with the story. so i also ask you pray for their hearts.

but most of all, please pray for the girls in the school, their parents, and the country of uganda. what a horrible tragedy to face.

if you would like to sponsor a child from uganda, please click here.

EDIT: Sorry, here is the link the the article.

yeah, yeah. i know. lots of crazy, potentially deep and discussion-inducing questions lately. you guys and gals challenge me in your discussion. and regardless of what some people may assume, i truly believe you all value the discussion as well. and if you don’t, well, always feel free to unsubscribe. you won’t hurt my feelings.

the question of the day…HOW DO YOU KNOW IT’S GOD?

another christianesque catch phrase. “god is blessing this” or “you know it’s god doing this or that…” when a local body gets “big” god gets all the glory and fame.

but what if it’s not god?

what if it really is slick marketing, charismatic leaders, feel-good buzz, and a good show? there are “cult” followings (i mean that in a non-religious sense) to other things…apple, the rolling stones, american idol, LOST, starbucks, etc…which all have some notion of remarkableness.

how do we know the result of our efforts are god? or are they just a cultures’ response to sensationalism? can they be both at the same time?

once upon a time, on april 4, i drove from birmingham to atlanta. when it came time to turn in for the night, i took residence on ragamuffin soul’s and whittaker woman’s couch.

i went into a back room to call my beloved husband, turned on the light, and saw this.

ummm….?

ok, not really.

but i am going on a blogging strike.

ok, not really.

but i did want to remind you that two beautiful girls, BOTH GIRLS HAVE BEEN SPONSORED, THANK YOU! agena and richenette are living in the midst of the crisis in haiti right now.

they’ve also been waiting for sponsors for over six months.

i keep reading how people are “thinking” about sponsorship. um, now is the time to do something. yup, i’m talking to you.

that is all. carry on.

thanks again for sponsoring appeson so quickly!

in addition to releasing agena (below) and richenette (below, below) from poverty by sponsoring them (**THEY STILL NEED SPONSORS**), you can also take another step to make a difference in haiti right now!

kenyon emailed me and suggested that we contact our state representatives to ask them to provide relief and aid to haiti.

he wrote:

I just wanted you to know that I just sent an email to my elected representative urging them to take action on the issue of Haiti. I understand that the church should do something as well and I pray that it will rise up. But I feel at this time the situation is so desperate that the government would be best suited for sending food and troops to help with its distribution.

you can do that online by clicking here.

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let’s meet agena!

Agena lives with her father and her mother. Her duties at home include caring for animals, helping in the kitchen and cleaning. There are 3 children in the family. Her father is sometimes employed as a farmer and her mother is sometimes employed as a farmer.

Singing, playing with dolls and hide-and-seek are Agena’s favorite activities. In pre-school her performance is average and she also regularly attends church activities.

Your love and support will help Agena to receive the assistance she needs to develop her potential. Please pray for her.

This child has been waiting for a sponsor for more than six months. Credit card payment is required to ensure that this child’s wait ends today. Help make a difference in the life of this child, who is anxiously waiting for a sponsor.

Agena lives in the mountainous community of Macieux, home to approximately 3,000 residents. Typical houses are constructed of wood and have corrugated iron roofs. The most commonly spoken languages are Creole and French.

The regional diet consists of maize, beans, chicken, bread and rice. Common health problems in this area include worms, typhoid, coughs and fever. Most adults in Macieux are unemployed but some work as subsistence farmers and earn the equivalent of $21 per month. The community needs employment opportunities, schools and qualified teachers.

Your sponsorship allows the staff of the Macieux Child Development Center to provide Agena with Bible teaching, health education, recreational activities, educational classes, scholastic materials and uniforms. The center staff will also provide community service projects, meetings and educational workshops for the parents or guardians of Agena.

AGENA HAS BEEN SPONSORED, THANK YOU! CLICK HERE TO SPONSOR AGENA RIGHT NOW!

**please do not click the “select this child” button on that page unless you are sure you want to sponsor him (as that will make his page unavailable for at least an hour, and someone else might miss a providential opportunity).**

appeson was sponsored within minutes. so, why stop now? there are now sixteen children from haiti who are waiting for sponsors, and have been waiting over six months.

meet richenette. she is nine years old and she needs a male figure in her life…could you (if you’re a guy) or your husband (if you’re a gal) help be that for her?

In her home, Richenette helps by carrying water and helping in the kitchen. She lives with her mother. Her mother is sometimes employed as a farmer. There are 2 children in the family.

Playing with dolls, jumping rope and playing group games are Richenette’s favorite activities. In primary school her performance is average and she also regularly attends church activities and youth group.

Richenette lives in the mountainous community of Damas, home to approximately 1,000 residents. Typical houses are constructed of wood and have corrugated tin roofs. The primary ethnic group and language is Creole.

Your sponsorship allows the staff of Damas Child Development Center to provide Richenette with Bible teaching, health education, medical care, recreational activities, academic support and scholastic materials. The center staff will also provide educational workshops for the parents or guardians of Richenette.

RICHENETTE HAS BEEN SPONSORED, THANK YOU! click here to go to richenette’s sponsorship page.

**please do not click the “select this child” button on that page unless you are sure you want to sponsor him (as that will make his page unavailable for at least an hour, and someone else might miss a providential opportunity).**

my friend alison asked me if i had heard about the crisis going on in haiti over the last several days. i hadn’t. evidently with all the climate issues this little planet is having, rice and other basic staple foods have gone up over 50% in price in the last year, and the effects are being felt now.

haiti is having an especially difficult time getting food imported to their country. and the food they do have, nobody can afford it. 80% of haitians live on under $2/day.

just last night on the news, chris and i saw something that made my mouth drop to the floor. since they’re unable to get food in, those living in poverty…well, just watch this video.

could you imagine having to eat dirt?

i thought today of the children living in haiti. aaron is in the process of adopting two beautiful children from a rescue there. i went to compassion’s site to see how many kids had been waiting over 6 months for a sponsor. SEVENTEEN! wow.

so, i’d like to take a second to introduce you to appeson paul. he’s 5.

Appeson lives with his father and his mother. At home, duties include gathering firewood and running errands. His father is sometimes employed as a farmer and his mother is sometimes employed as a farmer.

For fun, Appeson enjoys playing with marbles and playing group games. He attends church activities regularly and is in pre-school where his performance is average.

you know the drill. APPESON HAS BEEN SPONSORED - THANK YOU!! click HERE to be taken to appeson’s sponsorship page. please do not click the “select this child” button on that page unless you are sure you want to sponsor him (as that will make his page unavailable for at least an hour, and someone else might miss a providential opportunity).

please become a light in this little boy’s very dark world right now. your sponsorship is guaranteed to assist in providing for all of his needs, and will touch his family as well. and either way, if you sponsor him, another child, or don’t…please pray for him, and all the children in haiti right now.

if you click on appeson’s page and it says he has been sponsored, sweet! you can click here and sponsor another child.

derrick sponsored a child i had posted about a few weeks ago. he just got his first letter. read about it here.

please understand that i seriously over analyze everything - especially words. i’m from the belief that words shape everything, so their importance is paramount.

with that disclaimer in tact, please let me say…

every time i hear the words “worship was off the hook tonight” (and not merely because they said “off the hook”…we’ll save that 80s catch phrase for a later discussion) or “i can’t wait to worship this weekend” i literally feel my stomach do this awkward knotting up thing.

i truly wonder if as a modern day church culture we are reshaping the true meaning of worship with our words…which then leads us to reshape the true meaning of worship in our lives.

and honestly, i think we take this issue too lightly. i know i’m not the first to bring it up or wonder about it. but within our own church bubble, we almost repeatedly chant, “we know worship is a lifestyle…we know worship is a lifestyle…”

do we? do we really?

god does not take empty worship, or even ceremonial worship, lightly. when i was working on my book, i studied a lot about the different forms of sacrifice and their meanings. it is almost spooky how old testament sacrifices parallel to the things we say today.

amos 5:21-22 says,

“I hate, I despise your religious feasts; I cannot stand your assemblies. Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. Though you bring choice fellowship offerings, I will have no regard for them.”

burnt offerings were a sacrifice that said “i’m giving everything to you.” it was the only offering that nobody ate afterward. the entire animal was consumed by fire (devotion, dedication) and the smoke offered to the heavens (offering upward to god).

the israelites said they were completely dedicated to god. they sacrificed entire animals in order to prove it. but god saw their hearts. and he would have none of it.

how often do we say “god, take all of me?” but it’s just because we feel like we need to say that?

empty worship. god sees it.

micah 6:8 defines what god requires for true worship of him.

“He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God”

how many times do we get this backwards?

step 1: get people to a weekend service.
step 2: encourage them to “feel” the song.
step 3: inspire their hearts to fully unite and engage with the father’s love for others.

the heart comes before the words. before the song. and well before the weekend service.

::edit:: nathan points us to this incredible song by jon foreman that was just put up today that addresses the same issue.

i had a great phone call with my agent yesterday and we are discussing what book comes after mad church disease.

obviously you guys are the smartest people i know, so go ahead.

what book needs to be written? what book is missing?

when i was in birmingham last weekend, i met a lovely gal named crystal. we were eating lunch at a fabulous little place called brio and talking about her church.

“i love going to church,” she said. “it makes me SO uncomfortable. like wiggle-in-your-seat uncomfortable.”

can i tell you how much my heart smiled when she said that?

our society is addicted to comfort. and when church is comfortable, it merely blends in with the rest of society. what makes it stand out? are we only providing help and support and leaving out the uncomfortable aspects of holiness and the gospel?

when it comes to a weekend church experience, how is your church planning to challenge people? yes, you should make everyone feel welcome…but there is a HUGE difference between feeling welcome and being comfortable.

i have a post over at deadly viper today…

just so ya know.

it starts,

I put God to the test.

A lot.

And it’s weird how often he comes through…

read more…