"Food For Thought"

A guy Jon and I went to school with recently posted a blog that really got us thinking. You can read it here. He asks, in so many words, if we are to sort of drop everything and do what we feel God is asking us to do, or if we are to use common sense and think our way through it - making sure our family is provided for, our retirement funds are substantial enough to sustain us later, etc.

It really got Jon and I thinking. Certainly, if we feel God is calling us to do something, we should ideally trust Him and go...knowing that He will provide for our needs. But, what are our needs? Food? Water? Shelter? Electricity? A Microwave? A vehicle? An Ipod?

Last February when Jon and I were packing up our two babes to move to Kenya for four months, many people thought we were crazy. This isn't speculation, people actually told us this. Maybe we were, but in that moment, we knew we were going where God was calling, and doing what He was asking us to do. We had an apartment with two bedrooms (separated by pieces of plywood, mind you, but two rooms none the less!) and we were grateful! We had food to eat (it was different, but we adjusted and really enjoyed it). We did not have electricity, clean water to drink, a nice shower to use, a fridge, microwave and all the other conveniences. Life was very different for us - we'd made sacrifices, yet we still lived far above the poverty level in Kenya. So again, we are asking what our needs really are. Do we "need" the best food and technology to survive, or can we live on, say, rice and beans for dinner every night?

So many people around the world can only afford beans and rice as a meal for the day...if they can afford anything at all. So, we have decided to challenge ourselves to eat this meal for dinner each night for one month. We hope this will help us to remember those around the world who God has laid on our hearts to love and to help. Also, each night at dinner, we will plan to put at least $1 into a pot at the center of the table to represent what we are not spending on a normal, more lavish feast, and at the end of the 30 days will put that money towards a program to feed those in need...or towards a future mission trip.

For the season of Lent, we plan to put together a packet for others who may be interested in participating in this. Along with other tools and ideas, we will have "Food For Thought" cards for each of the 40 days, with stories of a family or individual around the world who are in such a situation. These can be read at dinner, as we eat our beans and rice and think and pray for those in need. Perhaps at the end of the 40 days, any New Hopers involved can put their $40 or $80 or whatever they have decided to give, towards an upcoming mission trip. (Hopefully by Lent we will be much further into the planning of this trip.) Those of you from other churches may want to do something similar with your community, and we are excited about getting information to you, too. This could be a very big, very cool thing to help make people aware of what others go through all around the world.

With Caleb's curiosity being so peaked about friends and others in need, we think this is such a great time to introduce something like this challenge into our family. I'm excited to see how it all plays out, and I'm excited to really focus on the needs in our world, and be more inspired to do something about it.

We know that God has given us a passion for those in need, and we are willing to go and do what He asks of us. We're pretty pumped about doing what we can to be God's hands and feet to His people. What a privilege that we don't deserve!