Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Feeling Blessed!

There has been so much going on in my life the past 2 months- it's been a little chaotic. My times I've felt totally overwhelemed and ready to throw in the towel on some things, but then God steps in and gives me a glimance of his power and control of the situations in my life. He opens opprotunities to met my needs and bring blessings. These glimances restore my soul and bring me to a place of prayer and worship. I am blessed to be going to Malawi, truely blessed. I am blessed to be apart of a church community where 5 yr old kids are giving up their birthdays to help bring clean water to other kids worlds away.  I am blessed that i have a husband and kids that love me and lobe that i have this chance to go to Malawi, even though it means BIG sacrifics for them. I am blessed that I have a personal relationship with a God that deeply and passionately loves me and when I smart enough to make space for God in my life He shows up every time!
~ Shannon 

Friday, April 23, 2010

Recent Thoughts

Just some recent thoughts of mine:

Earlier this week I was walking over to my van and something on the ground caught my attention. It was a baby sparrow and it looked like it was half asleep. When I tried to pick it up, it climbed onto my finger, jumped off, and glided slowly down to the ground about 6 feet away. I went over to pick it up again and could see that it was injured. I figured it fell out of a nest in a nearby tree considering it was windy that day. After I picked it up again and went inside the house, I called my sister and asked her what we should do. We both decided to try to nurse it back to health and release it again once it was strong enough. There was an old bird cage in the garage that we found, and we added some leaves and newspaper to the inside to act as a new home for the bird. We also put a plate of water in the cage, and I went out back to dig up some worms, isnt that what baby birds eat? The bird continued to be pretty unresponsive; it was half awake with its eyes nearly closed, but was still breathing. We had no luck feeding it mashed up worms and it wasn't drinking water. My sister mentioned that the bird was probably cold so she decided to sit down and watch a movie while holding it in her hands. About an hour later while I was outside working on a friends car, when my dad came out and told me that the bird didn't make it. My sister described that it's breathing became more and more shallow, then it just stopped breathing altogether while she was holding it. Although it seemed like a rather brief and insignificant event in the busyness of life, it caused me to ask myself some questions think about a few things. Why were we so willing to give our time to help that bird? Was the life of that animal important in God's sight? Why was life so fragile? What can we leave behind that will outlast material possessions? What is really important in life? It also brought to mind this verse:

"Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows." Matthew 10:29-31

A few days later I learned that an old friend and coworker who I was roommates with about six years ago had passed away in a motorcycle accident. I don't know the details, or even when exactly it happened, and it made me sad to realize that one sentence was all it took to describe such a huge event. Maybe I will see him again after I move on from this life, but while I am here I hope that experiences like this will cause me to be humble, realize how short life is, and to remember what things are really important.

What do we want to be remembered for? Lets leave behind something in this world that will last: The redeeming message of the cross of Christ and the love he showed for us. In what ways can we express this? I think that the many things happening in Malawi are just one way, and I am excited to see what God has been doing there. Just think, 1104 children were sponsored through World Vision last Sunday alone! Glory to God.

Ryan