An empty feeling

Have you been wondering what it would be like to live as a refugee or as someone from a poverty-stricken nation? Last week our staff, pastors and elders tried out the 5-Day Hunger Challenge with their families, and many found  it more difficult than they imagined. Others didn’t go hungry, but longed for food that was more varied and satisfying. You can read all the comments posted so far in the Message Board.

Here’s one from earlier today:

I emptied our refrigerator of everything for 5 days except for one big tub of cooked beans and one bowl of rice.  I set the oatmeal, 1 bottle of olive oil and 3 spice bottles by the stove.  That was all I used.

I stayed out of the pantry all week, and every time I opened the fridge, I saw the same options for lunch and dinner.  It help sensitize me to what little choices the oppressed and hungry have, and the endless variety available to me. Plus, I have clean water out of the faucet to drink and wash with, a warm comfortable bed to sleep in, and I am healthy.

I keep thinking about those hungry people- they are not just lacking food options, but their portions are much smaller every day, and they are thirsty and often cold and sick as well. My desire is for God to give me a heart of gratitude for all I have and not to take anything in my life for granted. I want to live with less and less and reach out even more to those in need. I pray this desire will never fade for me or for the rest of us after we return to “normal”.

May we never be normal again!

She is loved!

Posted by Nancy Leschke

Each February for the past four years, the this One’s for the girls team has brought a reminder of God’s love to the women who work in local exotic dance clubs.

In honor of Valentine’s Day this year, we will be visiting clubs on February 10, 11, and 12. Each woman will receive a small gift of chocolate, with a gift tag telling her she is loved, and that she is precious to God.

We hope to visit six clubs, including a new club in Green Bay that we visited for the first time at Christmas. Thank you for praying for the Christmas gift nights! We had many meaningful conversations with the young women we met. The girls were surprised and delighted to be remembered with a gift, and we talked to many who were new and had never before received a gift from the team.

Your support is so important to us, and we would greatly appreciate your prayers for our Valentine nights. Thank you for caring about these dear daughters of God, and for being an essential part of sharing Christ’s love with them!

Finding Him

By Molly Smits, CTR Writers & Storytellers Team

It’s 7 degrees outside, with a wind-chill much lower than that, and I’m sitting on a wooden bench in the middle of a forest.  I hiked about a mile and a half to get to this spot.

The only part of me that isn’t covered is my tiny round eyes, seeking calmness when my days become consumed with the chaos of this world.

So, here I sit; me, creation, and my Father.  It’s so easy for me to see Him in this place, surrounded by His beauty.

It’s easy to hear Him talk to me and to actually be listening, to feel Him wipe away my tears or lift my chin up to see Him clearer.  It’s so easy to feel clean here when I fall so short surrounded by society, through the whiteness of the snow and my prayers, I feel Him take it all from my shoulders.  So, I come here often, when I need some alone time with my Father.

I am a 27-year-old girl, not yet ready to be a woman,

Being on the same page

Posted by Dawn Richmond, CTR Writers & Storytellers Team

This past weekend Pastor Bill began to lay the vision for 2009, Reaching Farther. I’ve been anticipating this since first reading about it on the CTR website and I was already very excited before even hearing the message.

I spent the Saturday beforehand pondering about what I’d blog about what we were going to do to help others as part of this vision and how this might really change us.

I started to lose my enthusiasm when I told my husband, because I sensed that I had failed to generate the same passion for this project in him. In disappointment and frustration, I conceded that we were not on the same page and gave up trying to go any further with it.

The next morning was very quiet between the two of us, even as we walked into church.