This past week, on my first Sunday back in Sunday school, our lesson was on financial responsibility. The text was Proverbs 31 - how the woman pictured in the passage "considered a field before she bought it." Our class talked several times about impulse buying. All it takes is one email saying "SALE," and we are off purchasing things we don't need and spending money we probably don't have.
This past weekend, southeast Louisiana experienced historic flooding and thousands upon thousands of people have lost every single thing they owned. I came home and looked at my all-too-packed closet and was immediately convicted. I thought about this meme that has circulated around the Internet:
All summer long - and even before that, I had been on a spending spree. Partially, I was buying things for our 7 week sabbatical, but some of it was just because I thought I needed it. I studied my closet and thought, "Why am I keeping all of these things?" There were church t-shirts I will never wear again, yet there are people in south Louisiana who now have NOTHING. There were pants that are 2 sizes too big for me, yet I was keeping them because I was afraid I would be that size again. I DON'T NEED TO EVER BE THAT SIZE AGAIN! Some people were going to bed that on their rooftops, and my closet was overflowing.
So I started pitching stuff. The church shirts. The fat pants. The stuff I was saving just in case I might need it. Because now I don't need it. Someone else does.
And we did the same thing in our college ministry Pink House. We had old t-shirts from previous years that no one would take, so we packed them up to send to Baton Rouge Wednesday night. We also included notes of encouragement for whomever winds up with them.
When I open my news feed on Facebook in the morning and I see so many of my friends hurting, I just have to do something. I know you feel the same way. And while we can't help every single person, we can help some. Pray and ask God who you should help and how. And if you want to give, Louisiana Baptist Disaster Relief is a great place to start. We never know how our one little contribution can change a life.
If you are not in Louisiana, please continue to pray for our state and for those who are working to rebuild their lives. Pray also that the church will be the church in this time. Our church has been overwhelmed with requests for help, and we are two hours away from any flooding. We have a group leaving in the morning to go to Baton Rouge to try and help a few of those people. There are also churches that have been destroyed but are still trying to minister to their people. So much need. I am thankful we have a big enough God to handle them all! He knows. He sees. He directs. He provides. He is so faithful. May He be glorified even in the midst of our pain.
This past weekend, southeast Louisiana experienced historic flooding and thousands upon thousands of people have lost every single thing they owned. I came home and looked at my all-too-packed closet and was immediately convicted. I thought about this meme that has circulated around the Internet:
All summer long - and even before that, I had been on a spending spree. Partially, I was buying things for our 7 week sabbatical, but some of it was just because I thought I needed it. I studied my closet and thought, "Why am I keeping all of these things?" There were church t-shirts I will never wear again, yet there are people in south Louisiana who now have NOTHING. There were pants that are 2 sizes too big for me, yet I was keeping them because I was afraid I would be that size again. I DON'T NEED TO EVER BE THAT SIZE AGAIN! Some people were going to bed that on their rooftops, and my closet was overflowing.
So I started pitching stuff. The church shirts. The fat pants. The stuff I was saving just in case I might need it. Because now I don't need it. Someone else does.
And we did the same thing in our college ministry Pink House. We had old t-shirts from previous years that no one would take, so we packed them up to send to Baton Rouge Wednesday night. We also included notes of encouragement for whomever winds up with them.
When I open my news feed on Facebook in the morning and I see so many of my friends hurting, I just have to do something. I know you feel the same way. And while we can't help every single person, we can help some. Pray and ask God who you should help and how. And if you want to give, Louisiana Baptist Disaster Relief is a great place to start. We never know how our one little contribution can change a life.
If you are not in Louisiana, please continue to pray for our state and for those who are working to rebuild their lives. Pray also that the church will be the church in this time. Our church has been overwhelmed with requests for help, and we are two hours away from any flooding. We have a group leaving in the morning to go to Baton Rouge to try and help a few of those people. There are also churches that have been destroyed but are still trying to minister to their people. So much need. I am thankful we have a big enough God to handle them all! He knows. He sees. He directs. He provides. He is so faithful. May He be glorified even in the midst of our pain.
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