What do you see?

What do you see? Right now. What do you see? Stop looking at the computer screen and glance around you. What do you see?

I see...

• a photo of an old weathered Honduran man strapping some blankets to his equally old burro, preparing to go gather wood in the hills;
• a poster asking, "Does the Bible Provide an Adequate Answer for the Problem of Suffering?";
• a bunch of piles nearly out-of-control;
• Bibles in various languages, devotionals, books on fundraising, writing proposals, "Facing Your Giants", "Guide for Charity Board Members";
• blown up and framed photographs of energetic kids in China, blank-eyed babies in Ukraine, kids playing on a playground in Quinhagak, Alaska, my nephews, a friend & me in Beijing;
• a newspaper headline, "Status quo..." peering out from under a book;
• a partially written thank you note;
• a trash can greatly in need of emptying;
• materials promoting the great works of Back in His Arms Again, chinaconnect; Doma International, Eyes Wide Open International, Orphan World Relief, the CLiF Network;
• a dying plant;
• the bill from the unexpected and unbudgeted engine work on my car;
• a strategic plan for a new ministry;
• bags of Honduran coffee;
• a yard stick.

Every now and then I get into what  my mom refers to as a "funk".  When in one of my funks, I get out-of-sorts with pretty much everyone and everything, and I lack all passion and motivation.  These seem to occur at times which I have taken my eyes off those things which are important - those things which represent my faith, passion, and purpose - and have shifted to the "stuff" which surrounds me.

I don't think that I'm all that unusual.  How often do our eyes get distracted from what is really important and on to the "stuff" which only seems important? How often to we allow ourselves to get frustrated by those things which are really not a big deal, but seem to have the ability to skew our attitudes and outlooks?  Probably more often than we'd like to admit.

The next time you feel yourself sliding into a funk, I'd like to encourage you to take another look around.  While there may be lots of stuff in the way, work hard to look through it and really see and focus on those things which are really important, which give you your faith, passion and purpose.

Hope Hope Hope for Haiti!

I love it when a plan comes together!  Part of the vision of Into the Field is to be a facilitator between ministries, and that is exactly what is happening!

I've shared before about both Wild Olive Tees and Eyes Wide Open International, and how much of a fan I am of both. 

Now they're teaming up to make an impact on the lives of those surviving the devistating earthquake in Haiti!

Wild Olive Tees has designed a FANTASTIC new shirt!  100% of the proceeds from this "HOPE" shirt will go to Haiti via Eyes Wide Open International!

You also have the ability to purchase a shirt and have it donated to be taken down and delivered to a much deserving Haitian!

The shirt features Matthew 12:21: "...and His name will be the HOPE of all the world."

Check it out!

God in Motion!

There's a song that some of my friends will remember which goes, "It's a world that's changing faster everyday..."  Do you ever feel like that?  That the world is going by faster and faster?

What about the speed that God moves?  Sometimes I feel like I'm waiting and waiting and waiting for Him to do something - ANYTHING - and then all of a sudden BAM He kicks things into such a high gear that I'm afraid that there's no way that I can keep up. 

That's how I'm feeling right now.

The last 36 hours He's been working overtime - and its incredible!  As just a sample...

• Into the Field now has a fund - The Into the Field Servant Fund - with the Columbus Stewardship Foundation which allows us to receive cash as well as non-cash (i.e. stock, etc.) gifts.
• A significant gift that we were expecting for one of our Ministry Charity Projects ("MCP", a ministry we're working with that utilizes the 501c3 status of Into the Field for it's fundraising, support, etc.) not only came, but was DOUBLE the amount that we were expecting.
• Wild Olive Tees - which is an incredible t-shirt ministry started by an amazing friend of mine and two of her friends - has decided to design and sell a shirt whose proceeds will all go towards children in Haiti, and they've decided to donate the funds (and t-shirt donations) through another one of Into the Field's Ministry Charity Projects (Eyes Wide Open).  Not only will this generate important funds for the children of Haiti, but it will also increase the exposure of Into the Field and Eyes Wide Open International to a much larger and broader audience (which means we're now scrambling to get the EWOI website done by TOMORROW.
• I entered the last year of my 30's and am excited about it.
• Was able to connect Wild Olive Tees, Orphan World Relief (another MCP), and a local Christian media outlet...there may be some great and HUGE opportunities in front of us!
• Suddenly we're getting a lot of interest from people in participating in Team Up 4 Orphans - a charity running team (participating in the May 1 Cap City 1/2 Marathon in Columbus) raising money to benefit Doma International and orphans worldwide.
• Was offered an opportunity to promote chinaconnect (another MCP which is sharing the love of Christ to the people of China through service and relationship) to a group of servant-minded people.

And that's not even all of it!  WOW!  He's been busy and I'm exhausted and energized all at the same time!

Keep bringing it on, God!  I've got my XS Energy Drink and my Rhodiola and am ready to run!

Putting Purpose to Your Passion

What is your passion?

Is it children?  Cooking?  Knitting?  China?  Gardening?  Christ?

How does your passion show up in your life?  Is it something that you do or experience by yourself?  Or do you use your passion to bring joy to the lives of others?

I recently spent a long weekend in the state of Washington with a group of people passionate about both Christ and China.  Together we stepped through a time of focused strategic planning and the result is chinaconnect - a ministry with the mission to share Christ's love with the Chinese people through service and relationship.  They willl create and provide opportunities for people of all ages, on both sides of the Pacific, to to serve and share their faith.  To learn more or see how you can get involved, check 'em out here.

I've been meeting with a couple who have a passion for addressing the immediate needs of widows and orphans.  A trip this summer to Romania resulted in the meeting of a missionary who introduced Nicolle to widows living in mud homes which will likely collapse under the winter's first snow.  She has a renewed sense of urgency for putting her call to serve others into action.  Stay tuned...some great stuff is about to happen!  Keep your Eyes Wide Open....

For Christmas this year, my sisters and I have decided not to give "physical" gifts to each other, but rather find some way to serve, to bring joy, or meet the need of someone else.  I'm still fine-tuning what I'm going to do, but I know it'll involve kids who are not experiencing many of the blessings that life has to offer (I have 3 nephews, one sister is a teacher) and likely Christmas cookies (my sisters and nephews all like making, decorating, and eating them). 

I encourage you to take a couple of minutes to check out this video on The Advent Conspiracy.  Maybe it will give you some ideas about how we can bring focus back to the real meaning of and for Christmas.

So, what is your passion?  How can you put some purpose to it to impact the lives of others?  Think about it.  Then do something about it!  You'll be glad you did!