"Not called!'" did you say? "Not heard the call," I think you should say. Put your ear down to the Bible, and hear Him bid you go and pull sinners out of the fire of sin. Put your ear down to the burdened, agonized heart of humanity, and listen to its pitiful wail for help.

Go stand by the gates of hell, and hear the damned entreat you to go to their father's house and bid their brothers and sisters and servants and masters not to come there.

Then look Christ in the face ~whose mercy you have professed to obey ~ and tell Him whether you will join heart and soul and body and circumstances in the march to publish His mercy to the world.

~William Booth


Saturday, August 3, 2013

~measure

It has been a week since I have been back in Canada. Each day seems a bit easier, but I still miss Guatemala with all my heart. I am trying to put in to words the things that God has taught me, and the ways that I see my life changing... but it is hard.

One thing I can put in to words is this: I used to measure life in coffee. What I mean is, if I saved $10 on something, my response was, "Great! That is 2 trips to Starbucks!" Now sadly, I was no where near disciplined enough to actually follow those guidelines!

After my trip down south this past winter, I changed my measuring standards. It was no longer about coffee... but about lying on the beach. You see, if I stopped getting my nails done every month, at the end of the year, I would have saved 1/2 of a trip to somewhere sunny. AND if I also cut my Starbucks intake in 1/2, that would provide the other half of my trip! Genius!!!!

This week my standards have changed again.

If you are following my posts, you will know that I am sponsoring a new child. (Official as of yesterday!) Before meeting her, a friend asked me if I could afford it. She was making sure I was not making an emotional decision that I could not follow through on. I thought about it, and came to this conclusion: There are many things in my life that I can go without in order to be able to sponsor another child. Many things.

For the past several years I have wanted to put in a deck. Somewhere to entertain... sit and read... sun bathe. This year, I thought that was financially feasible. Only now I realize something: I have patio stones that work just fine for entertaining (which I don't do), sitting and reading, and sun bathing. And, my new deck could build 2 homes in Guatemala. 2 families could be warm and dry and safe. Or I could have my deck. It just puts things into perspective... the things we want and the things we need. Not to say that I won't spend money on things I want anymore... but there will certainly be far more thought about it.

Just one way God is changing my heart....
~cr

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