I’m thankful today for time away. For trips with Shawn. Time off from reality.
For time to just be.
What are you thankful for today?
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Will You Blog For Water?
I really am living the American Dream. I have a great job. “Own” my house. Happily married with two dogs.
I can with in reasonable limits pretty much buy myself anything, my family anything they want for Christmas. I’ve been blessed beyond my ability to understand.
In that, in realizing and not taking for granted all that God has blessed me with, He’s opened my eyes to those who don’t have.
So this year for Christmas I want to give, with a heart that wants and expects nothing in return.
Will you join me?
On December 15th, 10 days before Christmas, I am going to blog for water. And I’m looking for as many people as will join me. People who will take one day from their traditional blogging to raise money for clean water.
Do you realize 90% of the 42,000 deaths that occur every week are from drinking dirty water. And not just dirty…disease ridden.
So here’s the deal. If you are interested in blogging with me email me at prudy at prudychick.com.
You can also help spread this request by tweeting: I’m going to blog for water w/@PrudyChick on Dec. 15. Will you join us? (Benefiting @CharityWater) http://bit.ly/d9MAvI.
Let’s see what we can do.
Are you in?
My Name is Gomer
My name is Gomer and I’ve been selling myself for less than I am worth to things that are worth even less.
Over the last few days I’ve been listening to the Genesis Series from The Austin Stone. It’s been a great series. One particular message (The Toll of Sin vs. The Peace of Jesus) brought instant tears to these green eyes. Halfway through the message Jeff Mangum, the teacher, brings into the story Hosea and Gomer. In a brief few minutes he tells their story and convicted my heart.
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I’m prostituting myself to things that care nothing about me.
One of the more impactful points Jeff made was in paraphrasing God speaking to Hosea. He told Hosea to go get Gomer. You woo her. You pursue her. If someone is bidding for her you out bid them for her. You show her, her worth is found in your love for her.
I sat at my desk hearing these words and my eyes filling with tears. I sat there and realized I’m Gomer. I’m chasing after cheap things rather than the one who loves me.
My pursuer has pursued me till death (and raised Himself from death). He’s out bid every single thing that vies for my attention, for my heart, my mind, my passion. However, I’ve continuously chosen the lower bid. I’ve chased after the things that tickle my fickle heart and leave me wanting more over the God who has given me all I need: Himself.
I’ve been less than intentional. In all honesty I haven’t been. I’ve chosen to be lazy and just get by.
This week has been hard. The past couple have been in all actuality. Exhaustion, hormones and a possible imbalance of chemicals in my brain have left me ragged and the fingers of depression tickling. I shared this with a friend yesterday. The imbalance I was feeling. I know she prayed, but I can’t help but wonder. I’m not saying that if I’d been in the Bible more consistently it would have staved off the tickles of depression, but it surely wouldn’t have hurt.
My plan for the next while is to inundate myself in the book of Hosea. To remind myself of of my sin, my prostitutional ways, and the redeeming love of my God.
I Am
I am selfish, impatient, pride filled, occasionally manipulative, often angry, jealousy ridden.
More that that, I am forgiven, accepted, redeemed, slowly being sanctified, worthy, found beautiful, precious in His sight, worth the price of the land, made new and clean.
As I see more of my sin, I realize more, that I am evidence of His grace.
Jenny Rain Goes to Africa
I have no problems usually asking people for prayer. I think prayer is a vital part of our community. It is breath that keeps these friendships thriving.
Today I’m here to ask for prayer for my dear friend Jenny. She and her friend Susan are boarding a flight today for Africa. They are going to Burundi, Ethiopia and possibly Rwanda.
I’m feeling the incredible urge to pray for their trip, their time spent ministering and training Christian leaders over there.
So I’m asking you to remember them as they are traveling across blue waters and African plains. Pray for the time ministering and training. That God would give them the right words to speak and ears that are open to what the nationals have to say. Pray that God raise up mighty leaders in these countries and that we would see wave upon wave of lives changed for Jesus.
Also pray for their health. Jenny came down with a dreadful cold when she was there earlier this year. Pray for quick adaptation to the time difference both going there and coming home.
They are flying out this later this morning, and will be back in the States November 13th.
Thank you for your prayers I know they appreciate them too.
Community
I’m an introvert, it’s difficult for me to make friends. To put myself out there, well it’s hard. Online it’s a bit easier.
When I got the inkling to do this series I started talking about it with Jenny. We’d discussed on many occasions how we’ve both been blessed by the people we’d connected with through blogging and Twitter. We’d both experienced and developed deep and meaningful relationships not only with each other but with people around the world.
Many people don’t get it. Don’t get the connection between two people who have never met that live on opposite sides of the world. And that’s okay. I don’t get the connection between two football fans, whose bodies are painted with their team’s colors standing in a form of community as they cheer their team on, but that doesn’t mean that connection isn’t there.
Over the last year or so I’ve watched as my local friendships, community have waned. Friends we always hung out with we rarely get together with. Other confidants – the return of phone calls ceased to exist. As these relationships became less close, those online became closer. I met new friends that I would soon end up pouring my heart and soul out to over email and Skype and text. I had new friends that were genuinely interested in me and my struggles and joyous celebrations of the faith. That spent time with head bowed in fervent prayer for me.
This was oh so evident four weeks ago as I tweeted asking for prayer giving no details, only to receive DM after DM from friends saying they were praying and giving their cell numbers telling me to call no matter the time. Friends that continued to pray as we found out Shawn needed an emergency appendectomy. Prayed for him and for me.
As my tangent friendships became fewer, God brought ones that I couldn’t touch but that have met me where I’ve been.
Last week at work I was thinking about the people who say you can’t have deep, meaningful relationships with people online. I started thinking about Paul. The apostle, the missionary, the church planter extraordinaire. I realized that he had deep, meaningful, passionate relationships with the congregations of the churches he helped start. Some of the people he knew, but as the churches grew more he did not. Yet he still had connection and community even with those people. His letters to them were full of love, correction, and passion for who these people were and their relationship with Christ. To either him or the people in the church the miles in between and the the never having met didn’t matter. They still loved. They still had community.
I’ve been blessed by so many. My life has been touched and challenged. You’ve caused me to think. To pray. To cry. I’ve hurt when you hurt. Rejoiced when you’ve rejoiced.
Thank you for being community.
A very special thank you to Tammy, Elora, Alece, Jenni, Jenny, & Jen(ny) for joining me in this celebration over the last week. I’m am enthralled to “know” each of you. I can’t wait to meet over coffee, dinner, across a living room. To hug you long and fierce. To say in person what each of you mean to me. I am beyond blessed.
With love…Prudy
Community – Jenny Rain
Jenny has become one of my closest confidants over the last few months. She’s someone I text when I’m battling a bad mood. We have Skype dates and though our pups have never met, they’re best pup friends. Jenny’s blog. Jenny’s Twitter.
We’ve talked this week about online community.
Is it real?
Is it sustainable?
Does it make a difference and if so, how?
We have heard personal stories, watched beautiful connections develop, and listened as people have expressed why they feel online community is real or at least real to them.
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Yet is online community practical?
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Because at the end of the day, as much as we love the mooshy-gooshy feel good stuff, we all have lives to live, mouths to feed, and tasks to complete.
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My left-brain wants to know if online community works.
I want to know if online community makes an impact in our practical, everyday life?
I believe that it can and it is.
True Biblical community is supposed to be about life change and life change is exactly what is happening in these online communities.
When Tam received a new bed from her online community and she began sleeping through the night for the first time in years.
When Elora and Russ shared on their blog some of their very-real financial struggles and watched as a community of folks showed up with practical assistance.
When Alece stepped off the plane into the awaiting arms of an online community she was meeting IRL for the first time… and then watched as God used that community to support her through the crucible of a valley-experience AND came together at a bloggers meet up to raise funds for Thrive Africa, a ministry she started in Africa.
When Jenni and Brian renewed their vows surrounded by several of their best friends – who two years prior had only been known to them across the blogosphere.
When Gitz was surrounded by the (in)courage reader community during the loss of her sweet father.
And as several of us have made the trek overseas on mission, how a loving online community came together to pray for our journeys and do guest posts while we were gone.
True biblical community is what the church is called to be to each other.
Church is happening online.
It is powerful. It is real. It is good…
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In closing… I will share my unfolding story of the power of online community in creating life-change.
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I am a regular reader at the Ragamuffin community, not only because Carlos (@loswhit aka Los) is hilarious and impacting simultaneously, but also because the group of Ragamuffins there are really good peeps.
For the last several months I have been looking, praying, researching for a DSL camera because I want to be able to capture the essence of “moments” whether they are on the field in Africa or in my back-yard.
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Last week Carlos posted a blog entitled Share your Photos and Gear and the Ragamuffins shared!
One reader – Jay – shared this:
To which I replied:
Two hours later – I had purchased a Nikon D700 and it is on its way to me TODAY!
Just in time for my Burundi trip next week
With camera case, strap, and a gogillian memory cards thrown in out of the goodness of Jay’s heart.
All at a great discount “Because I was a fellow Ragamuffin”
Not once was I worried that he was a scammer, because he was a part of this great community I loved {Plus, knowing Los and the community, if Jay was a scammer… the community would have united in protest!}
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So now I have the big-girl camera I’ve been looking for just in time for my Burundi trip at a cost that I could not have even gotten on e-bay.
A practical-solution to an every day need.
A solution generated by online community.
An event that will undoubtedly be transformational as I step into this new season of my life.
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Does online community work?
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Yes.
All the believers were united in heart and mind. And they felt that what they owned was not their own, so they shared everything they had. Acts 4.32 (NLT)
